


HVPD: You're Under My Arrest Now

by kawaiijilli



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-15
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-03-23 03:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 56,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3753172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawaiijilli/pseuds/kawaiijilli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hetaliaville has quite a reputation for holding some of the most cunning criminals. However, when Leon, a smartass Asian waitress teams up with Emil, an ex-police officer as a pair of consultants working for the HVPD, there's no murder mystery they can't solve! Well, except for the mystery of love...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"You caught me, Officer. You, like, win."

 

"...You have the right to remain silent, so stay silent."

 

"Okay, but like, you don't need to hold my wrists so tight."

 

"Shut up."

 

"Aye aye, Officer...Emil."

 

What a brat...

 

Thus, started the complicated adventure between Leon and Emil. 

 

~ Earlier that day... ~

 

"LI XIAO WANG! I TOLD YOU NOT TO BUY THESE STUPID USELESS FIRECRACKERS FROM CHINATOWN ARU!!"

 

Stupid brother Yao.

 

Said brother threw said firecrackers at Li Xiao, or Leon.

"At least I didn't steal them."

 

Yao muttered something under his breath, something along the lines of "stupid teenaged brothers, aru" and "why does my brother buy useless things from useless Chinatown, aru? Why not real China?"

 

It was really too bad that dear old brother Yao didn't have half the mind to think of what Leon was planning to do with those firecrackers.

 

Really.

 

"Well, thanks for getting these for me anyway." He ignored the irritated squeak from his brother as he started walking towards the door. "I'll just be going now, to, like, read. Outside. Or something."

 

Yao grabbed a fistful of Leon's back collar and yanked him back. "I don't think so, aru. You are staying here and studying. No more buying crappy stuff from Chinatown."

 

Leon rolled his eyes. "...Whatever." When Yao had left (with the door locked), Leon took a peek at the price tag on his firecrackers. 

 

"Tch, stupid Yao. These were made in China. Who has stupid merchandise now?"

Leon snickered to himself and forced the window open, inhaling the foul city air. Taking his firecrackers, Leon crouched himself down upon the window frame.

 

"Today's a nice day to blow things up."

Leon lunged, plummeting towards the ground from his second story window. He kicked his feet out from above him, realigning his whole body into a standing position. He landed on his knees, the impact only shaking his bones. 

 

"Today is also a nice day to visit Cranky Kirkland." Leon pushed the firecrackers into the front of his burgundy duangua, skilled fingers hiding any sign of wrinkles or bulges.

 

Cranky Kirkland, an alias well suited for the British man Arthur Kirkland, was an angry young man that acted way older than he was. Oh, and his cooking sucked. 

 

It was horrid.

 

Horrid.

 

Arthur had opened a restaurant that had served British cuisine in Chinatown several months ago. Out of all places to serve English food, why in Chinatown? Arthur was ruining the place Leon loved! Where else was he supposed to eat lohas and buy cheap things?

 

But no, that wasn't the real reason why Leon hated Arthur so much.

 

No. There was something else.

 

Something far more traumatizing.

 

-Flashback-

Arthur, upon moving into the neighborhood, was a man that dreamed to acquire his own restaurant. Yet, he didn't have the money to do so. In order to raise money for this crappy dream of his, he started his own English sampling booth.

 

It was kind of like a lemonade stand, but not as cool.

 

Leon was fifteen then, so he didn't have any idea that tasting this British man's food was like tasting hell itself. He was looking around for cheap things that day, and upon doing so, happened to spy a booth that sold British cuisine.

 

The Leon today would've told the Leon three years ago that tasting British food was really, REALLY bad for your health, and was possibly packed with demon spawn.

 

"Oi, good morning, young fellow! Why don't you try some of my crap here?" Arthur called out to him.

 

Of course, the Brit didn't really say "crap," but that's just how Leon imagined it.

 

"Free food?" One couldn't just pass up an offer of free food! (Of course, Leon was about to learn how bad of an offer this man's food was.)

 

Leon slowly walked up to the stand, eyeing this bread...thing in his hand carefully. "It's a scone," the British man cheerfully chirped. Leon weighed his options carefully. 

 

The thing in hand was burnt up and looked more like charcoal than a piece of glorious food.

 

But it was free.

 

The thing in hand could cause food poisoning, possibly death.

 

But it was free.

 

Stranger danger. Don't trust things that strangers give you. Especially British strangers that run sample booths in Chinatown.

 

But...FREE FOOD.

 

Leon, unfortunately, stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. The. Whole. Thing.

 

Arthur smiled. "So, how is it?"

 

As soon as he swallowed, Leon's head felt woozy, and his stomach twisted and turned in sickly slow motions. Yao always told him to be polite and say nice things, even if the person treated him like crap. 

 

Well, this person had just given him crap.

 

"...It tastes...like..."

 

Arthur leaned forward expectantly. This man had no idea how bad his food was!

 

Luckily, Leon didn't have time to finish his sentence. He fell forward, the world collapsing around him.

 

Stupid scones. Stupid British men that serve stupid scones in Chinatown.

 

He remembered waking up in the hospital, Yao shrieking in his high pitched voice about how eating Arthur's Western food was like making ten deals with the devil.

 

And to make matters worse, that British man's cooking also did something to his face.

(Even though Yao repeatedly yelled that they were there before all of this happened.)

 

His precious, flawless face had two bold thick things above each of his eyes.

 

-End Flashback-

 

Leon wrinkled his nose at the memory. 

It didn't do much damage to his face, but Leon loathed that man to this day because of it.

 

By the time Leon had finished reminiscing, he had stopped in front of Arthur's house. He pressed the doorbell repeatedly.

 

"Leon?! What are you doing here?" Arthur glowered, his thick caterpillar eyebrows arching downward as if they were going to slip off his face any minute.

 

Leon stared at Arthur blankly. "I came to get some British tea for Yao." He pushed past Arthur, heading straight for the kitchen.

 

"Don't just allow yourself in!! And when did Yao start favoring British teas?!"

 

Leon shrugged. "I don't know. These days, Western culture is all he talks about. Don't ask me." He lied.

 

The Asian shuffled through drawers and cabinets, slipping a lighter down one of his long flowing sleeves. "Your kitchen looks new." Leon noted out loud.

 

"Yes, well...I haven't been using it since--"

 

"Yo, Arthur! What's going on over there?" A loud and obnoxious voice interrupted.

 

A blonde, robust man with glasses came noisily down the stairs, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist.

 

"Ah, Alfred, um...This is Leon, an acquaintance I met some time ago."

 

Alfred grinned. "Cool! Nice to meet you, I'm Arthur's hero, Alfred!"

 

Leon inwardly smirked, silently noting to himself to use this as blackmail later on.

 

"As I was saying earlier, I'm not cooking because Alfred has been ordering pick up from McDonald's..."

 

Leon shrugged. "Cool, I guess. So you guys are, like, dating, or something?"

 

Arthur stuttered wildly, but Alfred winked at Leon brightly. "Yup, that's right! Arthur's all mine!"

 

"Get off of me, you git!"

 

This only made Alfred laugh as he pulled Arthur's body closer to his.

 

As the two were bickering over personal space, Leon lit the firecrackers and threw them onto the counter.

 

"Well, I better go. Yao's getting...thirsty." Leon winced at how twisted his words sounded.

 

Arthur frowned, but allowed Leon out of the door. "Well...Have a nice day then, Leon. Be sure to visit my restaurant some time!"

 

When Leon was almost entirely out of Arthur's sight, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Not a chance."

 

That's when the firecrackers did their job.

 

SCREEEEEE!!! BARROOOOM!!

 

The whole house started to burn, the faint crackling of firecrackers and British cursing sounding in the background. Leon turned to run, only to be stopped by bright blue and white lights.

 

Great. The cops.

 

"Turn around. Put your hands up."

 

And that's when Leon saw stars.

 

For a police officer, the guy looked pretty young, almost child-like. He was doll faced and pale; this guy didn't even look like a guy. Striking short platinum blonde locks that fell over his face, and light purple eyes; he looked different. Like, really different. A good type of different.

 

A really good different. 

 

What kind of angel was this?

 

"Hey, you. I said put your hands up."

 

Leon sucked in a breath. Even his voice was cute. He slowly raised his hands, inwardly thanking Arthur and Alfred for calling this cop after him. 

 

Cute Officer Boy Toy walked up to him, placing a firm grip on his wrists. Leon tried to maintain his apathetic composure.

 

Then the guy pushed him against his police car.

 

Leon winced quietly, his stomach getting jabbed by the metal grate of the license plate jutting out. Cold metal bit at the skin of his wrists, a small clacking sound hanging in the air.

 

Handcuffs.

 

Leon was enjoying this WAY more than he should.

 

This officer wasn't really strong, but Leon decided to play along anyway.

 

Then, he was shoved into a car.

 

Then, the cute police officer started driving him to his house--er, police station.

 

"You caught me, Officer. You like, win." Leon decided to tease his eye candy a bit.

 

The Officer glared at his newly acquired arrestee. "You have the right to remain silent, so stay silent."

 

Leon reached over the back seat, his fingers reaching out towards the officer's hair. He could just make out the name tag on the guy's shirt.

 

Officer Emil, huh?

 

Officer Emil grabbed his wrists, fingers applying aching pressure.

 

"Okay, but like, you don't need to hold my wrists so tight."

 

"Shut up." A vein pulsed on Emil's head.

 

So cute.

 

"Aye aye, Officer....Emil." Leon saluted him with two fingers and fell back into his seat.

 

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, but Leon did obtain more information about his person of interest. In the very front of the car, a picture of a very young Emil looking up at a tall blonde boy with a clip in his hair sat obediently against the window; another photo of a ridiculously grinning man with equally ridiculous hair dangled from a chain on the front mirror. Looking closer, the smiling man seemed to be squeezing an older version of the guy with a clip in his hair. It seemed like a very intimate gesture, a faint hint of a blush dusting the hair clip guy's cheeks. 

 

The photo near the window must be him and his brother...

 

...And the photo on the front mirror must be his brother with...his boyfriend?

 

Leon cocked his head to the side. Why would this guy show his family like this in such an open and unguarded way...? Isn't he afraid that bad boys like me might hunt him down?

 

The door opened, snapping him out of his stray thoughts.

 

"Get out."

 

Leon stepped out of the car, and Emil lead him into a small white room. It was worn down and ratty, two chairs separated by a ebony table.

 

Investigation room?

 

"Wait here. Write down all of your personal information here." Emil pointed to the form now in front of him.

 

Leon's wrists were freed, and a pen was pushed into his palm.

 

"So in other words, what I'm hearing is that you want my number?" Leon flashed him a small smirk.

 

Emil's eyes widened, crimson painting his face. "Sh-shut up!!"

 

And with that, Emil slammed the door behind him and stalked out.

 

-Several minutes later-

 

"You don't have parents?"

 

"No, they passed away. My legal guardian is my girly brother, Yao."

 

Leon could see Emil's lips turn a faint upwards curve. "Well, that makes two of us." He whispered, then cleared his throat. "Call him. He's going to pick you up. There are no charges against you, but the couple that lived in the house you burned down demands that you pay for all the damage."

 

Leon barely curved his lips down into a frown. "How much...?"

 

Emil cleared his throat noisily to bite back a laugh. "Five hundred eighty three thousand."

 

Leon sighed. "If I knew Arthur and his boyfriend would be so specific, I wouldn't have burned his house to the ground in the first place."

 

Emil cocked his head to the side. "You're admitting your actions in front of a police man?"

 

Leon shrugged. "I don't really care. I know it's my fault, and it's not like I murdered anybody."

 

Emil frowned. "What if I said that you killed the couple living inside the house?"

Again, Leon shrugge  
d. "I would've said that Arthur deserved it. He ruined my face with his cooking."

 

Emil's eyes widened. "He burned you?"

 

The Asian shook his head, long bangs covering his eyes. "His poisonous scones forced these on my face." He pushed back his bangs to reveal his thick brows.

 

"...His scones grew out your eyebrows...?"

 

Leon nodded. "His cooking could kill a man."

 

Emil scoffed. "That's a sorry excuse. Call your brother to pick you up."

 

Leon complied, dialing the number to Yao's mobile.

 

"Those eyebrows suit you though." Emil whispered to himself, probably thinking that Leon couldn't hear him.

 

He did.

 

Leon paused his phone call in Mandarin (though he spoke more fluently in Cantonese) for a second, smirking to himself. "你好，这是 Leon。我在警察局。" (Hello, this is Leon. I am at the police station.) He added quietly, "我和一个很可爱的警察。" (I'm with a really cute police officer.)

 

"到底发生了什么？！" (What the hell happened?!) Yao's voice screeched at him angrily.

 

"我烧毁了 Arthur 的房子。" (I burned Arthur's house down.)

 

"我禁止所有鞭炮你！" (I ban all the firecrackers from you!)

 

"Whatever. 再见。" (Whatever. Goodbye.)

 

Leon hung up, sighing into his hands.

 

Yao sounded like he was going to kill me.

 

He took a glance at Emil, and smiled inwardly. 

 

I'll die happy. 

 

"My brother said--"

 

"You don't need to repeat what he said. From how loud he was yelling, he sounded pretty pissed."

 

Leon nodded wearily, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, he's always pissed at someone."

 

Emil's lips curved up once more, but just as quickly as it appeared, his smile faded. "Well, that looks like him."

 

"I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER, ARU! WHERE IS MY IDIOT OF A BROTHER?!"

 

"God, just shut up already." Leon hissed, sending Emil an apologetic look.

 

Emil simply opened the door and led a very angry Yao inside. "Arthur Kirkland and Alfred Jones are not pressing any charges, luckily. However, they are demanding five hundred and eighty three thousand dollars to pay for the damage."

 

Yao's eyes bugged, but it wasn't from the money. "AIYAAAHH!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ARU?! THIS STUPID LITTLE DEMON BLEW UP THEIR HOUSE, AND THEY'RE NOT PRESSING CHARGES?! There really is something wrong with that British man, aru."

 

Leon stuck his tongue out. "I tried to, like, tell you; you wouldn't listen."

 

Emil tucked a stray hair behind his ear. "Just be glad that they decided not to press charges. This way, we won't see each other ever again, right?"

 

Yao sighed irritably, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand, and yanking Leon's ear with the other. "Let's just go home, aru. When I'm through with you, you won't have a hand to throw firecrackers at people with."

 

Leon winced as the yanking persisted, taking one last look at Emil, gesturing a "call me" sign towards the fair haired boy. He received a nasty red faced glare in his direction.

 

I'll see him again. I'm sure of it.

 

Yank.

"Let's go, aru!"

 

"Okay, okay! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Yank. "Don't get your--" Yank. "--ponytail in a twist!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So very sorry for not updating yesterday, I got really sick. I hope you can forgive me, but I promise it will be updated on time next week!   
> Anaway, it's kawaiijilli and KiPanda Cutie here with a new chapter! We forgot to give some information about this fic before so here it is:
> 
> There will be a lot of flash-back and I mean a lot, but they're really awesome!
> 
> It'll take you on an emotional rollercoaster of way to many feel. So I wish you all good luck! (But it's fine)
> 
> Also here are the ages of some of the characters (we'll add more as they appear XD)
> 
> Leon-21
> 
> Emil-21
> 
> Yao-25
> 
> Lukas-23
> 
> Mathias-24
> 
> Tino-22

-Three years later-

 

Leon (with the help of his family. Who knew that Im Yong Soo could be so helpful?) paid off the amount of money that they owed the now married Kirkland-Jones couple, and they were even invited to their wedding. However, Leon never saw that adorable police officer again, and it came to a point where he was starting to forget what he looked like.

 

In three years, a lot had happened in that time span. Leon finished school early (to Yao's surprise), and had spent most of his days working in a small (but popular) cafe.

 

Leon liked to think that the cafe was more of a family friendly nightclub.

 

It was basically eye candy plus food.

 

Leon loved it.

 

The cafe used all its expenses on expansion and inventory, so buying new uniforms wasn't really on their to-do list.

 

In short, Leon, along with all the other male employees, were stuck wearing female maid garments. Leon embraced it; he felt more confident crossdressing in this uniform, and plus, the ladies seemed to like it too. 

 

Even though he was pretty sure that Jackie Chan wouldn't stand for such a sight. Nonetheless, Leon was all for the drafty feeling blowing at his legs.

 

Of course, his completely lax and perfect schedule had to change. 

 

It was spring, the time of the year when the cafe had the most customers. Leon was handling one table, a girl taking an annoyingly long time to order. Leon took this time to stare off out the window next to their booth, watching the cherry blossom trees shedding rosy tears from their gnarled branches.

 

It felt strange today. It felt like...something was going to happen today.

 

"--and the plum onigiri, please!"

 

Leon was pulled out of his daze abruptedly by the annoying voice of the lady sitting down in front of him. He curled his lips into a small smile, and wrote down her order (or what he guessed was the order) hastily on his notepad. "Okay, coming right up." He turned around quickly, letting his skirt swish around him.

 

He thought he heard the girl squeal a bit.

 

Leon tore the order off of his notepad and clipped it over to the kitchen's top shelf. "Chef, can you help me get this customer off my hands? She's been requesting me for the past month!"

 

"Aw, it's okay! She just wants to get to know you better! It's not like she wants to get married with you, ja?"

 

Mathias, the chef of the place, was a loud, obnoxious, overly happy person. He had wild blonde hair, bright cerulean eyes the color of the sparkling lake next to the cafe. Along with working as a chef in the cafe, Mathias also worked part time as a cop.

 

And he never stops talking about his policeman boyfriend, Lukas. 

 

"Oh yeah! That reminds me!! I was thinking about buying Luke the you-know-what tomorrow! It's at the you-know-where, the one with the you-know-what's-it!"

 

What Mathias was trying to say was: "I was thinking about buying Luke--my wonderful, amazing, super cute boyfriend--the ring I've been pestering you about for the past five months today! It's at the jewelry store I've been dying to go to, the one with the ring I'll buy Lukas!!"

 

Leon rolled his eyes at his co-worker's rambling. "I get it, I get it. I wish you luck, man. Hopefully, your boyfriend will, like, say yes."

 

Wait. What was Leon talking about again?

 

Mathias also had the tendency to make people forget what they were going to say.

 

Suddenly, a loud popping sound followed by a plethora of screams roared outside of the kitchen, and a small blonde headed boy dressed in a maid's outfit ran in.

 

He was infamous around the cafe. It would be a surprise to all the customers if someone didn't know Tino Väinämöinen; the cafe's Finnish cutie, married to the intimidating Swedish businessman, Berwald Oxenstierna.

 

"Mathias! I think someone's trying to rob us!" His bright orchid eyes glistened with fear.

 

Mathias' eyes widened, both in rage and in shock. "Who would rob us at a time like this? No, wait--who would try to rob us at all?!" He knocked on a peeling plastered part of the wall, the crumbling storm of shattered plaster revealing a long and very sharp axe.

 

"Do you have my RK-97?" Tino reached his arms out and clenched and unclenched his hands childishly.

 

Leon's eyebrows shot up in surprise. What kind of innocent boy-man would ask for such a scary-sounding gun?

 

Leon didn't know a lot about military equipment.

 

Mathias threw a huge gun at Tino, and the boy caught it with open arms. "Let's go, Tino!"

 

The Dane and Fin pushed through the doors, Leon following in tow. Right in front of the cashier desk, three masked characters dressed in all black were shooting at random customers.

 

"Hey, you!! Don't go ruining my restaurant or you'll pay!!" Mathias roared over all the commotion, punching the first masked guy he saw in the head.

 

"What do you want me to do, Mathias?" Tino crouched behind a large potted plant, his large gun ready to fire.

 

"Stun 'em. Don't kill them just yet." He ducked as a bullet flew over his head. "Leon, call the cops!"

 

Leon's eyes wandered over the cashier table, fingers searching for a telephone. No, he wouldn't panic. He just had to keep calm, and--

 

"Don't move...unless you want your head displayed on a silver platter." A knife bit into the skin of his throat, threatening to slide in and sever his lifeline. "It would be a shame to have such a pretty dress drenched in your blood, wouldn't it?"

 

Leon narrowed his eyes. Cheesy...Don't be fooled by the maid outfit...

...Especially when this pretty (sexy) maid knows how to defend himself...

 

Leon grabbed the knife holder's wrist, pressing his thumb on a hidden pressure point and flicking his wrist back. Twisting the guy's arm away from him, Leon pushed his foot out into the guy's stomach in a perfect roundhouse kick, snatching the knife before the masked man could regain his senses. Leon dragged his foot in, making the robber fall backwards, and said robber howled in pain as Leon stomped on his crotch.

 

"Never underestimate a guy in a maid's outfit."

 

Leon brushed himself off, taking a look at his surroundings. Mathias had pinned a robber to the wall with his axe, a heavily bleeding nose and an uneven haircut clearly evident on the poor guy's face. Tino was in the middle of a gunfight with the last robber, stray bullets cracking windows and breaking tableware. Leon quickly reported the situation to the cops.

 

Why would these masked men specifically choose to go after the customers of this cafe, instead of going for the cashier? And even stranger, why were there three guys trying to rob one cafe?

 

A low shriek cut Leon from his deep thinking. The last masked man was on the floor, clutching at his shoulder and leg. A sticky crimson fluid pooled onto the floor from both wounds, staining the perfectly cleaned peach tile that Leon had finished cleaning a little while ago.

 

"I stunned 'im! I stunned 'im!"

 

Tino is married to a well known businessman...

 

Mathias took peek at Tino's handiwork. "Tino, you almost killed him there! He's bleeding all over the floor!"

 

This is a popular cafe...which means that it earns quite a bit of profit...

 

"Well, at least he's still breathing."

 

Masked men...Is there significance to them wearing masks?

 

Leon took another look at the guy he had managed to knock out. On the right hand corner of the mask, two initials were embroidered in silver thread.

 

S.A.

 

I think I've got it.

 

"Wait. I thought there were three funny masked men." Mathias searched around for the final masked character that had managed to slip from their minds.

 

"Hey, over here." Leon spun the knife in his hands, avoiding his fingers just barely.

 

Mathias and Tino turned their heads, eyes widening when they saw an unconscious masked guy.

 

"So it's okay for Leon to kill a man, but it's not okay for me to kill one?"

 

Mathias shushed Tino. "How did you manage to knock him out?"

 

Leon shrugged. "Yao taught me some kung fu back when we were still in Hong Kong. I just kicked the guy in the parts to get the job done quickly. Plus, I watch a lot of Jackie Chan movies."

 

Mathias slapped Leon on the back. "That sounds like it would hurt a lot. Awesome, but painful. Good going there, Leon!"

 

All of a sudden, the door slammed open, and a blonde police officer walked in.

 

He didn't run in.

 

He just slowly took his time, as if there hadn't just been an attempted robbery; as if he was just strolling in to get his morning coffee.

 

"What happened here, Mathias?" The voice was full of boredom.

 

"NORGE!!" Mathias ran to hug his boyfriend tight, only to be met with a resounding kick to the shin.

 

Lukas Bondevik. The Norwegian policeman boyfriend to Mathias Kohler, the Danish love struck cafe owner and part time policeman.

 

Lukas acknowledged Tino with a faint hint of a smile, and Leon with a nod.

 

"Nor, you won't believe what happened today! There were these three masked guys, and I think that they were about to rob--"

 

"No." Leon interjected, and everyone turned to look at him.

"This wasn't an ordinary robbery. These men didn't do this all on their own either."

 

"What do you mean?" Mathias cocked his head to the side, his impossible style of blonde locks flopping to the side with his head.

 

"Tino, you're very aware that you're married to a successful businessman, right?"

 

"Kyllä. Ber's company is very well known."

 

"We also know that Mathias' cafe is pretty popular too." Leon began spinning the knife in his hands again.

 

"Right." Tino and Mathias replied together.

 

"I don't know about 'popular...'" Lukas mumbled, and Mathias replied with a small "hey!"

 

"These three men must've been sent here for a reason. They didn't come here to steal money; the cashier was ignored the whole time. Instead, they attacked the customers. I think they were, like, looking for someone."

 

"Who exactly?" Lukas asked, an eyebrow barely raised.

 

"Tino."

 

"What?! But...but why?"

 

"Isn't it, like, obvious? Someone is trying to use you as ransom. Berwald Oxenstierna is a well known businessman, which obviously means that he has rivals. This rival must be especially aggressive."

 

Tino clutched his gun to his body closely. "I...I don't understand. How do you know that this is one of Ber's rivals? Wait--how did you even know all of this at all?"

 

Leon gave his audience an apathetic expression. "On one of the masks, the initials S.A. are embroidered in silver thread. I don't read the newspaper often, but I do know of a minor businessman that's obsessed with conquering Berwald's company recently."

 

The Fin had to think a little deeper, and a little while passed before his eyes brightened up knowingly. "Sadik Adnan!"

 

Leon nodded.

 

"So, you think Sadik is behind all of this? But...why?"

 

"Well, I don't know much about that part. I'm thinking that he'd do everything that it takes to overthrow Mr. Oxenstierna's company."

 

Tino's expression fell a bit. "I see...I'd better tell Ber about what happened then..."

 

Nor clapped a hand on Tino's shoulder, though the policeman's expression didn't change. "It'll be alright, Tino. It's for the best."

 

Mathias gave Leon a grin. "That was quite some thinking there, Leon. You should work for the police center or something! They could always use some consultants and stuff, right Luke?" The only reply he got was an affirmative grunt.

 

Leon shrugged. "I guess...I've got nothing else to do anyways besides working here..."

 

Lukas nodded. "You won't be alone. My brother is also a consultant in the office. He doesn't have much experience so far, so he'll need help."

 

Leon's eyes narrowed. Brother...? Now that I think about it... Lukas seems familiar somehow...

 

"Who is your brother?" Leon said this without much emotion, much like he did with anything. However, there was an underlying edge to his voice, an excited, almost desperate edge to his voice.

 

Lukas' eyebrow raised a little. "His name is Em--"

 

Leon's eyes glinted. Lukas didn't need to finish his sentence, for Leon's memories clicked in a flash. Everything--his face, the heated flush that rose to his face, the pictures on his police car; everything.

 

"I look forward to meeting him again." Leon smiled faintly. This is going to be fun.

 

Just when I forget,

 

I remember.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So this happens to be my absolute favorite chapter we've written so far (KiPanda says different), but whatever. Just to let you know, France and Netherlands are the main antagonists in this fiction. Also, Lukas and Mathias are lawyers, who have been kicked out of their job because they're together, even though they're from opposing companies. Just thought you needed a little insight! There is also is a flashback within a flashback. You have been warned.
> 
> Lovino - 22
> 
> Francis - 25
> 
> Daan - 28
> 
> (Also Yao is 30)

During the three year span, things got hard for Emil.

After that confrontation with that annoyingly snarky Asian (he absolutely wouldn't admit that the guy was fricking hot), everything started happening so fast.

-Flashback-

Emil wasn't a high ranking police officer, but he got the job done. He mostly sealed with car tickets and arresting people for simple crimes like burning down people's houses for a stupid and humorous reason, not robberies and intense shootings.

So when Emil was assigned to take care of a much more difficult job, he panicked.

A little.

"Steilsson!" Elizaveta Hédevéry, the police office's captain shouted at Emil.

She was a tough captain, making sure everyone acknowledged her with a punctual "sir." She was definitely a tomboy, but she didn't mind wearing dresses. Emil didn't understand how this woman even became part of the police force at all.

Emil's head shot up from his paperwork, his violet eyes widening in surprise. Why was the captain, of all people, calling for him?

"Yes, sir?"

"You're going with Vargas to settle down some suspicions about some drug dealers downtown. Report back to headquarters afterwards."

Emil wasn't sure if he should be internally partying or internally screaming. Was this a promotion? "W-wait, sir. Why exactly did you choose me for the job?"

Captain Hédevéry smiled. "You haven't been handling enough manly crimes, Steillson. I've decided to make you take on this job to prove you're still a male!" Her Hungarian accent was thick, lacing between her English.

Emil rolled his eyes. Captain always had a strange way of persuasion. "Fine. I'll do it." Emil shrugged his police jacket on.

"Ah, wait! Steillson, before you go...You might need this." Captain Hédevéry tossed a black device into Emil's hands.

A rifle.

A loaded rifle.

Emil exhaled harshly, flipping his rifle into his gun holder on his belt.

Believe it or not, this was his first time using a gun.

x-Couple Minutes Later-x

"Oi, Snowy Boy. You the one I'm assigned with?" A brown haired police officer walked forward. A stray curl of hair bounced away from his hat, and a permanent scowl was etched into his face.

Rude, Emil thought. "Yeah. You're Vargas?"

Officer Frownie Face nodded. "I'm Lovino."

Emil held back a sigh of relief. Thank God it's not the other brother...

As if to answer Emil's fleeting thoughts, Lovino fixed his cap and mumbled, "Feliciano quit so he could start his own stupid fancy Italian restaurant and marry an equally stupid as hell potato bastard."

Well, good for him, Emil thought to himself.

"I guess we're supposed to start our assignment now, or something." Emil shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

Lovino said nothing, only gesturing Emil to follow him.

"Get in the passenger. I'll drive us there." Lovino opened the door to the driver's,

The Emil today would've known better than to let an Italian drive a car.

The Emil from three years ago was a clueless idiot. And, like it was said, things happened so fast.

Lovino didn't even put on a seatbelt.

Emil didn't have time to fasten his.

-Not Even A Little While Later-

"OH MY GOD, SLOW DOWN! YOU'RE GOING TO GET US PULLED OVER!"

Lovino had bulleted past seven stop lights in a matter of minutes, and he had flipped off about a whole crowd of drivers with his reckless and fast speeding.

"What, this? Come on, we cops do the pulling over. We aren't going to get tickets or anything."

"THEN I'LL GIVE YOU A SPEEDING TICKET MYSELF!" Emil screamed.

"Riding around with the tomato bastard wasn't this rowdy..." Lovino murmured under his breath.

"SERIOUSLY, STOP DRIVING. I'M GOING TO SPIT OUT THE MACKEREL I HAD FOR BREAKFAST!"

Lovino slammed his foot on the brakes. "Not on the dashboard! And besides, look! We're already here!"

Emil staggered out of the car, a hand covering his pale lips and the other clutching feebly at his stomach. "...I'll dr-drive...next...time..."

Lovino scoffed. "No way in hell, Mackerel Mouth. Let's get this job over with."

Emil groaned, straightening out his wrinkled clothes and clutching at the gun on his belt. "Captain Hédevéry said that we need to, and I quote, 'settle down some suspicions about drug dealers downtown.'"

Lovino made a face. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?! There aren't any drug-"

Before Lovino could even finish his sentence, a guy came running past them, sporting a strange briefcase in one hand.

Emil stumbled with his gun. "H-hey! Stop! Come back here!"

Lovino sprinted after the running man. "HVPD! STOP RUNNING AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP BEFORE I SHOOT YOUR DAMN HAND OFF THAT BRIEFCASE!"

Emil sighed and ran after the policeman. Really, this job should be paying him more than he earns.

When Emil had caught up with Lovino, he had pinned down the guy with the briefcase, despite the rough landing with a muddy rain puddle. The man with the briefcase grunted uncomfortably, giving Lovino a few choice words.

Lovino spat in the guy's face, muttering something nasty in Italian and taking the briefcase. "Let's see what a bastard like you has been hiding..."

Emil watched the officer shuffle through the briefcase. "Is this the drug dealer we've been looking for?

Lovino threw several dozen packets filled with a powdery substance at Emil. "Check it out for yourself."

Emil held up a small packet and wiped some powder off of his hands. "Heroin."

Lovino smirked and held up the dealer's head up by his hair. "Oi, what's your name, bastard?"

The very scared drug dealer stuttered a little before answering. "I-it's M-M-Morro...Morro Kevin Jameson. Please don't mess up my hair..."

Lovino scoffed and yanked at the mess of brown locks again, the gel and spray holding it up surely gone by now. "Okay, Officer Fish Breath. We got him. Let's go back to the station and turn this jerk in."

Emil narrowed his light purple eyes. "Wait. There's something I need to ask this guy." He walked up to Morro, holding up a packet to his face. "Are there any more dealers in town? Do you know anybody else that might've been dealing drugs in the area?"

Morro shrugged. "I-I-I don't know! I mean...there was a gang of guys that I know selling things around a little west from here, but other than that, I don't know anybody else."

Emil nodded, holding up a pair of handcuffs. "We have all the information we need. Now, turn around."

Morro seemed perturbed by this and started struggling against Lovino's grasp-which was now tightened around his hands. "N-no! Wait, don't turn me in! I have a whole bunch of buddies that'll miss me! I'll give you a dozen packets of heroin to shut you up! Here, take 'em for free!"

Emil rolled his eyes and snapped the handcuffs around Morro's wrists. "Sorry, Mr. Jameson. You're under arrest for possessing illegal drugs and trying to deal them to an officer."

"Oi, Fish Breath."

Emil turned around, a vein popping from his head upon being called by such an irritating nickname.

Lovino pushed Morro towards the police car. "I'll keep this guy in check in the car. You go ahead and handle the others west from here. I'll catch up with you later as soon as I drag this druggie's ass to the station."

Emil nodded, returning to walking west. Isn't it dangerous searching for dealers on my own? I'll be outnumbered...All I have is a single rifle after all...

A little while later, after some serious walking, Emil heard a throaty laugh echo from the distance. Is this the place...? 

The neighborhood he had entered wasn't exactly safe, and from watching the news, quite a few shootings were staged here.

"Who's there?" Emil asked, swallowing down his anxiety.

"What an absolutely adorable little police officer!" The throaty voice cooed. "Having fun playing dress up, cutie?"

Emil chose to ignore the voice, forcing down another round of pure fear. "HVPD, show yourself. Drop your weapons and walk forwards slowly."

"Ooh, how scary. If I drop my weapons, sweetie, how are my friends and I going to escape from you?"

Emil huffed a sigh. "I'll give you three more seconds. Drop your weapons, and come here. Three...

...Two...

...One-wha-?!"

A large hand snaked around his waist and pulled him back, another hand clapping around his mouth. Emil tried to scream for help, biting and (oddly enough) licking the hand that held his voice captive. A ragged cloth was stuffed into his mouth, and a thin ribbon of leather was wrapped around his wrists.

"You're under my arrest now, Officer."

That was the last thing Emil heard before his lights blinked out, and a heavy blow to his head knocked him out.

-line break cuz I know how to line break cuz I-

Emil woke up with his head throbbing thickly, as if his brain was melting through a microwave. He didn't want to wake up, and he definitely didn't want to be here. He found himself on the outside of some ratty worn down building, no one in sight.

Wait a second.

"Where...where am I?" Emil half groaned, struggling against the bonds that fused his wrists together. The gag that prevented him from speaking had loosened and fallen off.

"You mean you don't remember me? You don't remember where you are?" A different throaty voice answered, this voice more like a deep grunt than the throaty, seducing sort of voice earlier.

Emil cursed in Icelandic, his native language. "No, I don't. All I remember and want to do is to get out of here and arrest you for kidnapping and drug dealing."

The first throaty deep voice , echoing and bouncing off the walls. "Maybe if you took a closer look at my face, you would remember."

And then, he came out of the shadows.

"...! You! You're the guy that murdered my parents!" Emil struggled against his bonds.

Yes, Emil clearly remembered. He remembered every detail that day.

-A FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASHBACK-

"You said you'd pay me...You said you had the money..." A dark voice growled lowly, directing his attention towards Emil's parents.

"I'm sorry, we did have it! We swear! It's just that...we had to use it...we're poor enough as it is!" Emil could hear his mother's tears splashing onto the floor like thick waterfalls.

It was strange. Emil didn't even know why his parents were fighting. Big Brother was shaking and trembling scared...but why?

"You know what happens if you don't have my money...We made a deal...And you both broke it."

The floorboards shook from panicked stepping, and Emil could just make out the silhouettes of his parents and that strange visitor.

"Big Brother...what is Móðir and Faðir doing with that strange man? Bróðir?" Emil tugged on Lukas' nightgown curiously, his violet eyes shining with confusion.

Lukas said nothing, only pressing a finger to Emil's lips and holding his small body close to him.

"Please, you're being too rash about this. It was only a one time thing, this deal we made with you."

"I take no mercy on people who break their promises."

Lukas had managed to sneak himself and Emil just behind the wall where they could see everything. "Bror...we have to be quiet. Don't go over this line, or else you'll have to owe me all your mackerel for a week." Lukas traced an invisible line in front of him, and Emil stepped back, still a little confused.

"But...but Bróðir, Ma and Pa are with that weird guy...what are they doing?"

Lukas only sighed, and kneeled down in front of Emil so they were at the same height. "Lillebror, listen. If that big man finds us, he might hurt us and Mor and Far. So we have to be quiet and make sure he doesn't find us."

Emil nodded; Lukas was the storebror, so he knew more than Emil, having be six years apart. "Okay...I'll try to be quiet."

"Too late, mes petits." A thick French accent laced in with another stranger's English.

Lukas yelled out, pushing Emil behind him. "Get away from us!" He kicked his shin, causing the Frenchman to yelp in pain.

"Ah, but mes petits! I haven't finished dealing with you, yet!"

Lukas and Emil ran as fast as they could.

Straight into the not-French scary guy's clutches.

"Hm. Who's this?" A strange Dutch accent asked.

Emil and Lukas' mother paled. "They're...my-my children. Please...Please don't hurt my beautiful elsklings..."

Their father, instead of cowering away in fear, glowered. "Do not hurt my children, or I will make sure this is the last deal you make with anyone."

The large intimidating man cracked a faint smile, but it disappeared quickly, back into a frown. "I see." He grabbed Lukas by the neck of his nightgown and held him up, a gun resting on the side of his head.

"Mor! Far! Help!" Lukas' eyes rested on Emil. "Run, lillebror! Run! Get away!"

Emil didn't get far, for the Frenchman had captured him within his gloved hands. Frenchy made a clicking noise at the back of his throat. "Non, non, non, mes petit! I don't think so!"

Emil screamed and flailed his hands wildly. "STOP, STOP! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO BACK TO MY BROTHER! LUKAS! LUKAS HELP!"

Lukas only watched Emil sadly. "Bror, hold on. Just...J-just be quiet and pray, okay?"

Suddenly, Emil's mother crouched down low, as if bowing down to the strange Dutch accented guy. "Please...let my children go free. We..." She looked back at her husband, who reluctantly nodded. "We...we will sacrifice ourselves for our children's safety."

The Dutch threw Lukas against a wall, and the Frenchman released his grip on Emil, only after he planted a kiss on Emil's forehead. Emil wiped his forehead off and ran towards his brother, shaking his shoulders lightly.

"Stóri bróðir?"

Lukas groaned in pain, feeling the back of his head with his hand. When he pulled his hand away from his head, it was smeared with blood. "Lillebror...what is Mor and Far doing? What...what happened?" He sat up abruptly.

Emil shrugged his shoulders, trying to look for his mother and father hidden by the large Dutch accented man's body.

A scream erupted out of their mother's mouths, and a small thump shook the ground. Lukas and Emil sat wide eyed, never leaving their father's slack face. Emil couldn't stop screaming, his tears diluting the thick blood that coated the floor like a second layer of polish. A large gash tore open the flesh of their father's stomach, leaking thick streams of blood. The Dutchman held a blood dripping knife in his hand, an apathetic expression on his face.

"You said you would sacrifice yourself for your children's safety."

Lukas finally got the memo, and he carried Emil over his shoulder. "We have to run, Emil. We have to get away from here."

Emil clapped his hands over his ears and shut his eyes tightly, screaming and screaming. "Móðir! RUN, GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Emil, though his hands were covering his ears, thought he heard the sound of an apologetic Frenchman, and a gunshot, entering his mother's body and stopping her screams halfway.

-END OF FLASHBACK IN A FLASHBACK-

A blonde haired, about middle aged man stepped out of the shadows, a crimson rose jutting out of the pocket of his suits. "Ah, mon cher, you remember me now, yes?"

Emil fought back his angry tears that threatened to spill over. "Yeah, I do remember. I don't see why you have to kidnap me while I'm on the job."

"Your parents didn't pay me back yet." Another guy slipped out from the shadows, a vertical scar marring the spot on the right side of his forehead.

Emil rolled his eyes. "I don't see how that matters with me. I don't get paid much."

"We don't care. We don't want you to pay. We want your brother to."

Emil's eyes bugged. "My brother?!"

The Frenchman laughed. "Your brother is a well known lawyer, yes? We're just using you as bait."

Emil bit back his tongue. Rude. I don't want to be used as bait. That's a way too submissive role.

The larger, scar faced blonde turned around and stuffed a smoking pipe to his mouth. "Do what you want with him, Francis."

Francis smirked, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. "Oh, I will, Daan. Honhonhon~..."

Emil shouted for help, eyes desperately searching for a car speeding down the street.

Anyone...anyone at all...?

Lovino...what's taking you so long?

"I've seen a lot of cute boys in my time, mon cher, but I've never seen one as cute and unique as you~!" Francis stroked the Icelandic's head of silver hair, and traced around one of Emil's lavender eyes.

"Don't touch me, and do me a favor: Stay away from me." Emil snapped back, shrugging away from Francis' stroking on his hair.

"Honhonhon, but mon cher~ I'm allowed to do whatever I want..." He stared untying Emil's ropes, but escape clearly wasn't in the picture.

"I'll arrest you for sexual harassment."

"Ah, yes, the handcuffs." Francis winked suggestively, and Emil jerked away from the Frenchman.

"Gross! You're a real pervert, you know that?"

"Hm? I just have normal adult urges, mon petit! I'd love to- ACK!" The Frenchman screamed in pain, clutching his shoulder, a bullet having gone through.

"Get in." A voice called out, pushing the passenger door open.

Emil thanked whatever force that had saved him. Closing the passenger door behind him, he smiled in relief. "Thanks, Lovino. I thought I was going to be eaten alive by that guy."

"...'M not Lovino...Lillebror."

Oh. It's him.

"What are you doing here, Bróðir?" Emil made a face at Lukas in distaste.

"Would you rather I left you with that horny French guy again?" Lukas kept his eyes at the road, expression apathetic despite the obvious signs of amusement in his voice.

Emil grabbed his seatbelt protectively. "Hell no!"

Lukas smiled faintly as he tucked his gun back into a hidden car pocket under the dashboard.

Emil frowned. "Where'd you get the gun in the first place? And you still haven't answered my question yet, Lukas."

"I go down this path every day coming home from work. As for the gun...it's for protection, lillebror."

"Doesn't answer where you got it."

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Because it does."

"Maybe I just wanted a gun, Emil. It doesn't matter where or how I got it." Lukas sounded exasperated.

Emil glared and stomped his foot on the brakes, forcing the car to pull over to the curb. "Tell me where you got the gun, Lukas! I can arrest you for stealing a weapon without a proper form!"

Lukas rolled his eyes. "God, bror, you're so uptight! I just got the gun from a fr-acquaintance of mine! We went to some kind of rifle store to get the papers signed instead of having a lunch break, that's it!"

Emil frowned, and gestured with his hands. "The papers. Let me see them."

Lukas sighed and reached out from the passenger compartment, shoving a packet of papers towards Emil. "I even made extra copies in case my fr-acquaintance spilled anything on the papers. So am I under arrest, Officer Bror?"

Emil's frown grew deeper. "No, I guess not. But here's the real question, bróðir; who is the friend that you keep talking about?"

Lukas kicked the car back into gear. "None of your business."

The Icelandic crossed his arms. It wasn't until Lukas had stopped at the station that his stóri bróðir spoke up.

"Okay, look. My...friend...is a lawyer that works for an opposite company. He isn't exactly a friend either...he's...we...are boyfriends. I don't know exactly how it happened, but...it's nice."

Emil raised an eyebrow. "But isn't having an affair with a guy of an opposite company not allowed?"

Lukas nodded. "Ja. Which is why...I'm going to quit my job."

"WHAT?!"

"Bror, you can support us. You still have a job."

"Us?!"

"Well...Mathias-my boyfriend...he was fired from his job once his boss found out about us."

Emil pinched the bridge of his nose. "God, bróðir, I wasn't even thinking about working here anymore! I don't want to be a damn police officer anymore! I was almost harassed today, and I was abducted and had to deal with a wacko driving Italian! I don't want this-"

"Then give it to me."

It took Emil a little while to process his words. "...What?"

Lukas smirked. "You said you didn't want your job anymore, and clearly, I don't want to us to be unemployed and poor for the rest of our lives."

Lukas pulled out his cellphone from his front pocket and dialed a number.

"Hello? Is this Mat-Oh, so it is you, idiot.

No, I didn't call you for-for something perverted and horny like that! No, I just called to tell you that I found a job at the police station. My lillebror is lifting his position, and he's going to introduce me to his boss."

Emil stuck his tongue out.

"Is something like that even allowed? How do I know you're not just going to goof around? I don't even think my brother will get you in on the job." Suddenly, Lukas' face turned an unusual red color. "No! I am not going to let you see me dressed like that! This is a serious job, Dane!"

Emil leaned closer, straining his ears to hear Lukas' boyfriend's voice.

"BUT LUKE, YOU'LL LOOK SO SMOKING HOT IN THAT UNIFORM! I WANNA PEEK, AND THE ONLY WAY I'LL BE ABLE TO SEE MY NORGE IS IF I GET THE JOB WITH YOU!" The voice blasted into Emil and Lukas' ears, leaving a very disturbed Emil and a very pissed "Norge."

"I didn't need to hear that..." Emil scooted back into his seat.

"Mathias, shut up for a bit, will you? I'll...I'll ask, okay? But only because you kept whining about it... Goodbye." Lukas ended his call red faced and clearly flustered. "I'm...sorry that you had to hear such perverted words coming out of this phone...lillebror."

Emil shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter. I had something similar happen to me, except it wasn't over the phone. But that isn't important. I'll try to convince Captain Hédevéry about you and Mathias working here, and I'll step down from my place."

-End of Flashback-

In the end, Lukas and Mathias started working as police officers, the slimy Frenchman and the intimidating Dutchman continued to roam the streets (though no one heard of them yet), and Captain Hédevéry managed to keep Emil as a consultant for the police.

Emil heaved a sigh and rearranged his cubicle. Any moment now, Bror and Mathias will be running through the door eating each other's mouths or bickering about some stupid assignment...

As if on cue, Mathias and Lukas came stumbling in, Lukas grabbing onto Mathias' tie to press a kiss to his lips.

Strange. They're usually trying to swallow each other up with passion. Unless they brought an important guest with them...

"Hey, Icy! We brought a present for you!" The Dane snickered, only to have Lukas yank at his tie in a not-so-intimate-gesture.

"...What...?" Emil raised an eyebrow at Lukas, his eyes questioning his older brother, searching for evidence.

"You'll love it, lillebror. Captain Hédevéry already approved of it."

Emil pinched the bridge between his nose. "God, Stóri bróðir, just spit it out!" Using the phrase "Stóri bróðir" always got Lukas to spill whatever secrets he had.

Lukas managed to maintain his apathetic expression through the whole thing. "We've got you...a new consultant. Now you can get help on the job. Isn't that great, Bror?"

Emil sighed. "I guess. Who is it?"

Mathias smiled. "Come on in, Wang."

Wang...why did that surname sound so familiar?

Emil's eyes widened.

Choppy brown hair that fell to his jaw.

Golden eyes that seemed to tease at every angle.

That same apathetic expression that Lukas wore, except Emil could tell that there was definitely something mischievous hiding under there.

Long fingers that held his attention, even at a slack position, they were beckoning him closer.

Not this guy.

Anyone but him.

"Why did you bring someone with a criminal record here to help me with work?" Emil's eye twitched irritably. "I even arrested him myself!"

Lukas shrugged. "We tugged some strings for him. The captain said 'okay.'"

Emil sighed. "Bror, you're a jerk."

In that moment, the Asian decided to speak up.

"Hi, I'm Wang Li Xiao. But you can call me Leon." He outstretched his hand, and Emil took it.

"I'm Emil Steillson. And it's just Emil..."

And then Leon kissed his hand.

Emil's face flushed. Bróðir didn't even stop him?! What the hell?!

"It'll be an honor to work with you, my princess." Leon's face was apathetic, but the beginning curves of a smile were threatening to show.

"Oh, shut it." Emil tried to hide his flush, his attempts being unsuccessful.

And that voice. His voice would be able to kill Emil just by saying his name!

And so, the fortunate misfortunes of Emil Steillson began, starting with that totally hot Wang Li Xiao.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I A few days ago me and a friend started playing HetaOni, it's really good try it sometime. It's a really good and only a wee bit confusing. But holy shit it's already chapter 4? Well don't worry, Leon and Emil will confess their love in like 5 chapters. This chapter is more along the lines of a filler-ish chapter to learn more about our darling Leon. Also I'm really sorry for updating really late, please forgive me!
> 
> Im Yong Soo - 22
> 
> Mei Lin - 23
> 
> Kiku - 24
> 
> Heracles - 25

"Leon, how was work today, aru?" China flipped the contents in his wok around, sliding in a pile of cut vegetables in with the gourmet dish he was making.

"It was fine, I guess. We were ambushed by these guys in masks, and I got another job today." Leon shrugged off his jacket lazily and took a seat on a leather couch.

"That's nice, aru. Glad you got some exercise done."

3...

...2...

...1...

China switched off the flame. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE AMBUSHED, ARU?! YOU ARE GOING TO TELL ME EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TODAY. AND CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING ANOTHER JOB, BUT STILL; TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Geez, teacher, you don't have to be so loud. And I already told you what happened.

"Stop calling me by that nickname!"

Yao worked as an elementary school teacher, a loud and very uptight teacher at that.

"There's nothing to worry about. There were these three guys, and they started shooting up the place. We took them easily, and I didn't even use a weapon."

"Did you use the self defense I taught you, aru?"

"No; I used Jackie Chan's awesome kung fu!"

"LI XIAO!" Yao yelled out in a warning tone.

"Yes, I did! Geez, Yao!"

"Aiyah, handling Kiku wasn't this difficult, aru. You're a grown man now, Li Xiao."

Leon rolled his eyes. "You and Kiku were closer in age. You guys always spent time with each other, so that's why you guys got along."

Yao fixed his ponytail. "You still have to act older, Li Xiao. There will come a time when your childish antics will not be tolerated, and then something terrible will happen to you because of it."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Ooh, scary, Yao. I'm like, trembling out of my pants right now." He smirked. "In fact, dear gēgē (older brother), I'll show you how much I care about what you just said." His sneer grew. "In three...two...one..."

CCCCCRRRAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHH!

An explosion sounded from the fridge, and the door hung open, smoke trailing from the inside. Leftover food and vegetable innards formed a messy puddle on the floor, a shower of egg splatter embellishing every shelf on the fridge door.

"Wait for it..." Leon laughed at Yao's horrified expression.

A storm of rainbow confetti spewed out from the mess, covering the floor in rainbow glitter and leftover Chinese food. How Leon managed to work this prank out must've been by some kind of magic.

"...L-Li...Xi-Xi-Xiao...I'm going to give you two seconds to run or apologize or do something to clean that all up..."

Leon pulled his legs over the leather couch, and pulled out his phone. "Hm, no thanks, teacher. I think I'm, like, going to stick around and watch the madness unfold. So instead, I'll give YOU two seconds to run, and, like, do whatever you just said."

Yao yelled nasty insults in Mandarin, cursing the day Leon was born, promising to give him hell, and all sorts of hilariously weak insults.

Ha, some adult I am. I'm never going to grow up. Never.

"Ahhhhh! I smell Aniki's cooking~!"

Leon switched off his cellphone. "Speaking of never growing up..."

Im Yong Soo, Leon's Korean cousin, worked in a nightclub part time, the other half of the time he worked as a Tae Kwon Do master. All in all, he was a perverted, loud, and hyper man that was a force to be reckoned with, and he was at least a year younger than Leon.

Oh, and he was head-over-heels in love with Yao. He even claimed Yao's chest.

Claimed it.

"Aniki's also cleaning? Yao-Yao just needs a maid's outfit on and my dreams will come true!"

Leon smirked. "I wear a maid's dress at the cafe I work at, Yong Soo. I can get it from work tomorrow so you can force it on teacher."

Im Yong Soo smiled brightly. "Really? Thanks, Xiao-Xiao, da-ze!" He glomped Leon happily.

Leon growled and barely managed to push the Korean off of him, running upstairs to avoid any glomping or Yao's yelling. "This family is too loud. Why don't I just move out already?"

A feminine voice piped up. "That's because you're too poor, dìdì (little brother)! And even if you did have all the money in the world," Leon's eyes lit up at the word "money," "You would be too chicken to move out all on your own. You'd probably need someone like Im Yong Soo to live with you or something."

Leon's lips formed a half pout, one that only his cousin (who seemed more like a sister than anything), Mei Lin, was able to see. "That's not funny, Mei. I would never move in with Yong Soo. He's too horny."

Mei Lin smiled. "Then you'd better make sure that you find your true love as fast as you can, and hope that he or she has a house to move into."

The sudden thought of Emil and him living in one house together sent warm shivers all over. "I hope Yong Soo doesn't harass him before I do, then."

Mei Lin suddenly squealed. "You mean you've already found someone, Xiao-Xiao? Is he cute?! Do I need to tell Kiku about this? What about Elizabeta? She's into this stuff too!"

Leon groaned. "No, no, no! It's none of Kiku's, Captain Hédevéry's, or your business! Stay out of my personal life, Mei! I don't want my whole life being inspiration for one of Kiku's creepy closet pervert games!"

"Oh come on! We all know that Kiku is probably not going to make one of those silly games since he's already pretty involved with that Greek boyfriend of his. Come on, dìdì! Tell me a little bit about this cutie of yours?"

Leon opened the door to his room and slammed it shut behind him, yelling a resounding "NO!" He fell atop his bed face first, smashing his face into the pillow repeatedly. My family always wants to get involved. Stupid brothers, stupid sister-cousin, stupid horny cousin...

That night, Kiku and his boyfriend came over to eat dinner with the family. Kiku was Yao and Leon's Japanese half brother, coming from Yao and Leon's mother's side. He was a stoic and composed young man, but he always complained about his joints stiffening and back hurting. His ebony hair was cut short, and he was always seen wearing some form of Japanese yukata everywhere he went, with the exception of business meetings. Kiku was a well known photographer in the Hetalia Ville area, and he mainly immersed himself in helping out photo shoots for the fashion agency.

Kiku's boyfriend, Heracles Karpusi, was a Greek man ranging around the same age as his significant other. He was always clad in brown and white clothing, even his shoulder-length hair was brown. He was the president of Hetalia Ville's most famous fashion agency, which basically made Kiku and Heracles perfect for each other.

"Kiku, how is your work doing? Are you still earning lots of money, aru?"

Kiku cleared his throat politely. "Well, my work is doing fine, thank you. I still get the same amount of money, so nothing has changed."

Im Yong Soo stopped shoveling food into his mouth for a moment. "What about you and Hercules? Are you guys getting it down yet, da-ze?"

At this, Kiku nearly spit out all of his tea. "I-It's Heracles, not Hercules, Yong Soo. And as for what you asked, I do not entirely think that it is appropriate to discuss-"

"Yes, yes we are." Heracle's quiet voice silenced the room.

Leon tried not to chuckle at this. He stopped recording from his cellphone. I can definitely use this to my advantage later on.

"Heracles!" Kiku covered his blush with his hands, utterly horrified at what his boyfriend just said.

"In fact," Heracles continued, "Kiku sports the fruit of our passionate love on his finger."

Yao choked on his tea. "WHAT, ARU?!"

"Show them, Kiku." Heracles smiled warmly.

Embarrassed, Kiku held out his left hand. A sparkling sterling silver band wrapped around his ring finger, pink teardrop sapphires arranged like the petals of a sakura blossom.

"He asked me a couple days ago..."

Yong Soo cocked his head to the side. "Looks a little girly, don't you think?" He received a slap from Mei Lin.

"Congratulations, Kiku! I always knew that you and Heracles would be the perfect pair! Always..." Mei Lin kept digging her fist deeper into Yong Soo's face.

"Th-thank you..."

Leon had said nothing through this whole ordeal, but no one seemed to notice that.

No one, well maybe except for Kiku.

"Li Xiao, are you feeling well? You haven't been speaking much at all." Kiku gave him a faint smile, and Leon shrugged.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm doing just fine." He silently scraped at his empty plate with a fork, then excused himself from the table.

Whenever Kiku is here, I feel so uncomfortable, like a burning sensation is trying to claw its way out of my chest. It feels angry and cold-hearted. What is this feeling?

Leon locked himself in his room, flipping on his cellphone. Guess I should just bury myself in work.

When Leon and Mathias explained the situation in the cafe to Emil, the police station immediately started to investigate the case. The ex-police officer started researching information, clearly disturbed that Sadik Adnan was one of the suspects in the case.

"He's an old friend," Emil answered when Leon asked about his relationship with the man.

Emil had already planned an appointment with Sadik, so Leon and Emil could interrogate the next morning.

Loud knocking at his door interrupted Leon's thoughts. "Leon, may I speak with you?"

Kiku.

Leon pocketed his phone and frowned. "I was sleeping," he lied.

"Oh, gomen, I didn't know. I can let you sleep if-"

Leon sighed. "No, it's fine. Come on in." He unlocked the door and watched as Kiku made himself comfortable on the (Hong Kong) Chinese's bed.

"So, what do you need?" Leon leaned against the wall.

"Well, I know that it's rude of me to say this, but...Every time I'm over, it seems like you're very distant. I know it is probably in my mind, but I can't help but feel like you're acting this way because of me. I remember when we were younger, Yao, you, and I were very close. If it is something I am doing now, please tell me." Kiku pulled on the edges of his yukata timidly. "So, did I do something wrong, Li-kun?"

Leon looked away. "It's nothing, Kiku. You didn't do anything, I just..."

I need to get myself out of this situation.

"...I just...need a little space, that's all. I'm still getting used to being an adult, so...yeah."

Kiku's eyes seemed to brighten a little, despite their dull dark brown state. "I see. Well, I'll let you sleep now. Goodnight, Li-kun."

As soon as the door closed behind Kiku, Leon released the sigh he had been holding in. "Why is it that I can't say what I am thinking or what I'm feeling? It's not that important, is it?" He switched his lamplight off, staring up at the ceiling. Being together with the family is so strange. The burning feeling in my chest every time Yao and Kiku talk with each other grows by the year. I wonder why I feel this way...

As long as Leon buried himself in work, the burning sensation will fade for sure, right?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm so very sorry for updating late. I love this chapter it's so cute! Get ready for an emotional ride of feels in this chapter because there's a lot. I believe this is also were the love between Emil and Leon grows!
> 
> Sadik - 26

"Emil! Get out of bed! You have an interrogation session with Leon, remember?" Mathias' obnoxiously loud voice caused tremors in the now-half-asleep boy's brain, and he groaned.

"Shut up, I'd rather not go to work today."

"Bror, Mathias and I are taking the day off today." Lukas uncovered the blankets off his lillebror's body.

Taking the day off...Both of them...? Wait! Then this means that...!

Gross.

Emil's eyes shot open, and he quickly pulled on a wrinkled collared shirt. "Oh, look at the time! I have to work, and by the way, I don't think I'll be back home until late. Wait, maybe I'll stay over at Tino's! You two have fun doing whatever you're doing! In fact, go ahead and get a headstart on whatever you're doing! I'll be out of the door in two seconds! Bye now, bróðir!"

Before Emil had shut the door, he could see Mathias pocketing something in his pants, looking quite serious and nervous at the same time.

How strange...Mathias is never serious. That means that Lukas is actually going to have a great day for once.

-linebreaklalalalalaMathiasandLukaslovelove-

Leon was waiting for Emil when he entered the office.

"My princess woke up with the bed head today, how adorable," Leon drawled out, his eyes stuck on a cellphone screen.

Emil glared at Leon, bringing a hand to his hair. "Stop calling me that," he mumbled halfheartedly. "And plus, we can't stay here long. We're interrogating someone, remember?"

Leon pulled on a thick jacket. "Interrogating an 'old friend,' how can I forget?"

-linebreakcuzIcanlinebreakcuzIcanlinebreak-

"Come on in, it's been a while, Emil!"

Strange. The guy wore a mask himself to work. Coincidence?

"Thank you, Sadik. My coworker and I came here to ask you a few questions."

"Coworker? Questions? What's all this about?"

Is this guy trying to deny the truth?! We know the facts already!

Leon held his hand out. "Leon Wang, nice to meet you."

Sadik took his hand, shaking it. "Ah, Emil! I didn't know your boyfriend was a polite one!"

Emil's face instantly reddened, and he glowered at his old friend. "He is not my boyfriend!"

Leon examined the room around him, looking for any suspicious signs that Sadik may be the murderer.

"Interested in art, Mr. Wang?" Sadik smiled at the Asian who was now clearly immersed in the painting he was staring at.

Actually, not really.

Leon was trying to piece all the facts together before he asked the questions. He had the evidence, so all he needed to do was make the guy admit to his crime!

"Yes, well, this piece is really quite complex. As for the questions we will be asking, those will be simpler...in a way."

Sadik nodded. "Then ask away. I'm an open book, Mr. Wang."

Leon sat back in a white cushioned sofa. "Mr. Adnan, where were you yesterday between morning and noon?"

Sadik paced the room slowly. "I believe that...I was in my office, working on a new project my company will be displaying."

Emil sat on the couch directly across from Leon's. "Do you know if any of your coworkers were out that day? Were any of them absent?"

"Hmm...I don't really remember. I don't think we had anyone absent that day. However, we have attendance records of everyone in this building, so feel free to check those out if they'll help."

Leon nodded. "We will, thank you. You don't mind if we check out yesterday's attendance record, do you?"

"No, not at all! Check out anything you'd like!" Sadik took a peek at his watch. "I must be going now. I have a business meeting! It was nice meeting you Leon, and it was nice seeing you again, Emil!"

When he had left, Leon sunk further into the couch. "He's a more than average kind of liar."

Emil narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"When someone is being asked questions on the crimes he or she committed, they twist the truth a little bit to make it fit their cover up story. In this case, Sadik is a more than average liar because he used the truth to his advantage. However, there's something that he's hiding from us, I could even hear it in his voice. He's trying to hide something away from us."

"How do you know all of this?! You haven't even signed up for a job in the police force or anything!

"I watch a lot of crime shows. Plus, the things I watch in Jackie Chan movies are helpful. But mostly, it's common sense...and a little bit of not being stupid."

"You are stupid."

Leon held back a chuckle. So cute.

-linebreaklinebreaklalalalalalawhatamIdoing?-

Back in the office, Leon and Emil were meticulously going through attendance records.

"His alibi seems to have checked out. Sadik was in the building on the day of the 'robbery,' and only several people, all part of lesser staff, were out that day. Do you think he sent lesser staff out to rob the place?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt his company to blame his lesser ranking staff, but I think that Sadik would use people that he knows and trusts. I think that the robbers were most likely in a higher up position."

Emil's eyes scanned the higher ranking position attendance records. "What do you mean? They were all here yesterday."

Leon's eyes glinted. "What I'm saying is that, maybe Sadik used people from his higher ranking positions, persuading them to rob the place and kidnap Tino. Maybe, his higher staff was there in the building yesterday, but they left early. Sadik would place a cover for them, something, like, let's say, a doctor's appointment, or a dentist's appointment. In other words, Sadik really is the mastermind behind the attack. My suspicions were correct."

Emil was speechless for a second, violet eyes shining in awe. "How...?"

Leon smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks. "Let's just say that it takes common sense and stupidity."

Again, Emil's facial expression was that of in awe, except now a light dusting of pale rose lit his cheeks in a crimson glow.

I didn't know that he could smile like that... It's...strange, but...I could get used to more expressions like that.

"Y-yeah...common sense and stupidity, I guess..."

Leon's smile grew, and he focused his eyes on the attendance papers again. "So do you agree with my theory, Officer?"

"It's a little farfetched, and we don't have much evidence. But...I guess that it could work for now." Emil leaned back in his seat. "And, it's just Emil now. I quit my job as a policeman."

This caught the Asian's attention. "You did? I thought you just worked part time for both. Why did you quit?"

Talk about bringing back bad memories...Again. Emil sighed. "It just...wasn't for me. I always felt this way about the job, but what really passed the line was what happened on the last assignment I took."

As Leon listened intently to the Icelander's story, he felt his heart clench like cold steel every time he described an attack on him. It made him feel strange, as if he wanted to jump right in front of Emil and become his own human shield or something.

"Ah, I should be going home now...even if Mathias and my brother are in the middle of whatever they're doing..."

Leon tried not to laugh at this. They remind me of Kiku and his Greek boyfriend... "Do you mind if I get a ride home as well? My Korean cousin drove me here since I don't have enough money to buy a car yet...And I don't really want him driving me home..."

"Sure, but it can't be as bad as an Italian's driving. The two brothers here, Lovino and Feliciano, they are by far the scariest drivers in this town. Possibly the entire world."

"Maybe. Yong Soo works at a nightclub, so most of the time, he's not drunk on alcohol, he's completely drunk on party vibes. Like, seriously, his driving is like Western food made by an English guy that works in Chinatown."

The rest of the time, even on the way back, both boys discussed how bad their family and coworkers were at the most random things, all the while laughing along to whatever story one had to share with the other.

"And I was forced to play the whole thing!"

"You're serious?!"

"Yeah, like, of course! Now whenever I pick up a manga with two guys on the front cover. I can't even read it! I had to burn a whole shelf of manga because of that game!" Leon didn't know why he was talking so animatedly, but it was a nice change, as long as he was talking to Emil.

And each word he spoke, Emil would listen intently, and would respond with the cutest bubbles of laughter, his eyes drifting to his for a second, lifting them from the road.

Before either of them knew it, they were just a block away from Leon's house.

"Turn a left here, and it's the middle house." Leon squinted his eyes towards the upstairs windows, seeing two shadowy figures. He opened the car door, flashing Emil another smile. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

Emil nodded. "Yeah. It was nice getting to know a little bit more about the coworker I'm working with. I'll see you then." And then he drove away.

There goes one of the only people that has really seen under my mask.

Leon sighed and closed the front door behind him, slipping off his shoes tiredly. I'll have to work at the cafe tomorrow...Hopefully I can get the morning or late night shift...

"-talk to him, aru." Is that Yao?

"-to, it just doesn't work, Yao-san." Kiku? But I thought he only stayed for dinner last night.

The already quiet conversation faded even quieter, making it virtually impossible for Leon to hear.

"I'm tired." Leon slowly trudged upstairs, closing his door behind him as quietly as he could.

Were Yao and Kiku talking about him? Did they sense Leon's discomfort that easily? Strange. I thought I closed myself up pretty good. I have an excuse for everything they say...But were all my efforts useless? I still don't understand this burning sensation in my chest, I can't identify it.

Once Leon's head reached his pillow, though, his thoughts were pushed back into the farthest depths of his mind.

-linebreaklinebreaklalalalalalawhatamIdoing-

When Emil returned home from dropping off Leon, he found the house in a neater state than he expected it to. This added on to his already pleased state of mind, and a small smile crept up the corners of his lips.

"Lukas? Mathias? I'm home..."

He heard someone padding down the halls, and Mathias emerged from the shadows. His hair was thoroughly mussed, not like his usual hairdo, but messed up as if he just got up from bed. "Welcome back, bro. How was your day?" He sounded gloomier than usual.

"It was...fine...I guess. What the hell is wrong with you, Mathias? Why aren't you all ridiculously happy today? You seemed pretty glum this morning, too." Not that Emil cared, of course.

"Eh, it's nothing to worry about, kid. And about this morning...well, I...it's nothing to blow up about."

Emil narrowed his eyes, and took out a piece of mackerel from the kitchen. He whistled lowly, and a small bird with a large orange beak and a pink bow tie flew out, quickly devouring the piece of fish. Emil whistled again, this time in a different pitch, and Mr. Puffin (Emil's special pet name for his bird) rested himself atop Mathias' mussed bedhead. A sharp peck released a yelp from Mathias, followed by a string of Danish curses.

"Dammit, Emil! What's up with you?! Don't send your after me! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I don't believe that what you said just now is entirely true. As for ...if you don't tell me what's going on right now, you're going to be going to work with a very large bump on your head and a shower of puffin hickeys."

Emil grinned to himself. That should totally get him. Once I mentioned ruining his face, Mathias got really scared! Ha ha! I totally have this one in the bag!

"Fine, well...this morning, before Lukas woke up, I called off work for Norgie and I. Then, I took the ring box that my mother had to the jeweler's to get the ring I reserved and bought. When I went to get it, they said that the ring had been taken already! And then, when I came home, I may or may not have drank a pint or two, and then Luke got totally pissed at me afterwards and left!"

Emil raised an eyebrow. "Wait. Why exactly was my bróðir so upset over you drinking? You always drink beer." Mathias' drinking habit wasn't a surprise to the Nordic family. In fact, most of the time, Lukas was Mathias' sober drive-home partner when Mathias was too drunk to stand, much less drive.

"Well...it was kind of our anniversary today...and I was kind of going to propose to Nor today. So when Lukas saw me drop-dead-drunk today of all days, I guess he kinda lost it. I wouldn't have gotten myself drunk if that ring was in my ring box! But no, I had to get all upset because that stupid jewelry store sold that ring to someone else already."

Emil's eyes widened. "Wait a second..." Mathias was the only person that the ring was reserved and bought by. That means that the ring was put under Mathias' name. Only Mathias could've received it, so why was the ring already gone with he tried to retrieve it? Emil inwardly groaned. He was starting to sound like a certain Asian co-worker.

"Hey, Ice. You all right there?" Mathias clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." Someone took the ring, even though Mathias' name was already tagged onto it. What kind of jewelry store would hand off reserved pieces of jewelry to another buyer? Something doesn't match up. A jewelry store like this one wouldn't just hand away any ring that simply.

"I'm going to call it a night. Goodnight, Mathias. Don't drink too much tonight."

The Dane laughed. "Ha, I was going to do the same thing. I've already drank enough."

These pieces don't fit right into the puzzle! Mathias ordered that ring himself. The real question is...Who took the ring, and how did they do it?

-linebreakchocolatechipcookiesareDanish-

Emil woke up to the blaring sound of his alarm clock, which was strange for him. Usually, the annoyingly loud voice of Mathias would drag the Icelandic out of bed, but today, no, today was strangely different.

"Lukas? Mathias?" He padded through the hallway connecting his bedroom with the kitchen, and found a paper note taped to the table.

Lillebror,

Anko and I went to work early today. Eat breakfast. Meet us at work.

Bye.

Big Bror.

Emil groaned. "Bror's such a pain in the ass... Why did he go to work early? And with Mathias of all people?"

After breakfast, and a fairly short ride to the police station, Emil was greeted with a karate chop to his head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Princess Emil, your presence is requested by Lukas Bondevik in the police headquarters."

What the hell?

When Emil had entered the police headquarters area, a crowd of policemen were clustered in the middle of the room, and it was eerily quiet.

"Emil, is that you?" Lukas almost never called him by his name...unless there was something serious going on.

"Yeah. Something going on, Lukas?" He pushed through the crowd of policemen to find his brother keeping a tight grip on Mathias' tie.

"Why don't you have a seat? And also, all of you other men, you can take a seat and pretend to be working on whatever you're supposed to be doing now." He let go of Mathias' tie.

The Dane began to cough and wheeze, loosening his tie some. "...Geez Nor...Why'd ya have to do that for? I could've easily come over to your desk...ACK!...it's not that hard to...CUH!...to walk a couple feet!"

"I did what I did because it was fun, and it was also punishment for yesterday." Lukas pulled a frown.

"...Sorry...Norge...but-but I can explain! You see, I was going to get you something very special from the jewelry store, and it just so happened that someone took it! It was robbed right from under my nose!"

Lukas smirked. "And that special something, Dane, would it so happen to be something dark blue and silver?"

It took a while for Mathias to figure out what colors his "special something" was. "Uh, y-yeah, I think so. Why?"

Lukas shoved Mathias down to floor roughly, leaving a very confused and frustrated Danish man. "Anko, you're a lazy and stupid idiot, Anko. You drink too much, and you're always too loud. You're a pain in the ass to deal with, and I don't even know why I go through all the trouble to put up with you."

Is Lukas...breaking up with Mathias? But it's been a couple of years already! He's put up with him for so long, why break up with him now? This doesn't make sense!

Wait. Lukas mentioned something about the ring...the color of it?

Emil jumped as someone pulled his body back. "What the heck?! Get off of me! Who are you?!"

"Chill it, Snow White. It's just me. So, did you solve it yet?"

Emil raised an eyebrow. "Solve...what?"

Leon smirked. "Well, like, the mystery behind Mathias' ring of course."

"How'd you find out about that?"

A rather chipper policeman spoke up.

"The loudmouth told everyone in headquarters. Even filed a police report about it!"

Emil sighed. "Well, that's probably why everyone is crowding around them."

The two went back to focusing their attention on Lukas, who had spent the time explaining everything that Mathias did wrong with his life.

"-and you're way too loud when you snore. You're way too dense, too, you thick-headed idiot. But..." Lukas blushed and directed his firm gaze at a very confused and worried Mathias. "...but despite all your stupid decisions and dumb habits, I've persevered through it. We've persevered through it. I know I haven't made good choices myself, and I know I've dragged you into a lot of my selfish decisions..." Mathias shook his head, pulling Lukas down into his lap.

"No, no, no! Luke, you've always made the right decisions! You're the best thing to happen to me since I've been born! Whatever we've done, we've done together, ja?"

"...I know, I know. I'm just...Thank you, Mathias."

"What're you trying to say, Nor?"

Mathias is an idiot sometimes. A very dense idiot.

"Um...What I've been trying to say this whole time is...We've made mistakes, but I'd like to make mistakes together. I want you to be with me for the rest of my life. I don't want to be lonely, I don't want to just lie awake and think of you, stupid Dane, you...me...us...yearning for a chance like this to come around. I want to wake up with you, I want to sleep by your side, I want to argue with you, not at you. And to do this...I have to ask you something."

This is the most he's said in quite a while.

Mathias' eyes shined with unshed tears. "I...finally understand, Lukas. I know what you're trying to ask. I-I've been trying to ask you that for the past month now. But once someone took the ring from under me, I couldn't ask you. I spent so much time working up the nerve to ask you this Lukas, and now I-"

Lukas pulled out a sparkling piece of jewelry from his pant pocket. "You mean...this ring?"

Mathias and Emil's eyes bugged out from their head, jaws dropping as low as they could. "NORGE?!" "BRÓÐIR?!"

Lukas gave Mathias a smile. "I sort of found the catalog you were looking at, Anko. And...when I saw the ring you circled, and I saw the date you were going to pick it up on, I kind of took it on my own..."

Mathias, jaw still unhinged from his mouth, grinned the biggest grin on the planet. "I'm so...dammit Lukas..." Tears began to pour down his face. "Can I...Can I ask you now, Norge? Are you okay if I ask you?"

Lukas nodded, the biggest smile Lukas had formed in his entire life planted on his face (and dang, did it look hot on that Norwegian face!). "Go ahead, Mathias. I'm here."

The Dane took a shaky breath. "Ever since I saw you in the courtroom, I knew that you'd be forever planted in my mind. What started as a simple attraction grew into a tangled...thing, that I knew I couldn't live without. Lukas, you're everything to me. I'm a selfish and loud jerk, but you keep me on my feet. I want to travel everywhere with you, whether it be back to Denmark or maybe to your home in Norway, I want to go everywhere, see everything with you. I'd spend everyday of my life with you, and that's why I'm going to ask you an important question." He took the ring from Lukas' palm and propped himself up on one knee. "Lukas Bondevik, will you marry me?"

Lukas nodded, a small light in his eyes that Emil couldn't identify. "Yes, Mathias. I will."

Mathias jumped up to his feet and swung his fiancée around in circles, kissing his lips repetitively. The whole police office cheered loudly, and Emil looked away, not sure whether to feel elated or disgusted at what he just saw.

"Congrats, Emil. Your brother's stuck with an obnoxious ball and chain." Leon patted Emil on the back.

The Icelandic grumbled. "I'm stuck with it everyday...This just makes it more permanent."

Leon forced himself not to laugh. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I found something intriguing about our case."

Before Emil could leave, Lukas tapped him on the shoulder lightly. "Do you see why Mathias and I decided to go to work early, Bror?"

Emil wrinkled his nose in disgust as Mathias practically carried his older brother over his shoulder. "Yeah, and it's totally gross. I won't be able to get any sleep tonight!"

Emil thought heard Leon snicker next to him. Emil groaned. "Whatever, let's just get on with this case."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! It's already chapter 6, wow it's been more than a month. Finally we're gonna get down to the actual case more. and maaaaaybe some HongIce. But me and some of my friends thought it would be funny to make Peter a drug dealer, remember he's like 8. Then we scratched that and now he's a candy dealer to other little kiddies. Just thought it'd be a funny thing to think about. Enjoy the chapter!  
> Also sorry for an A/N being on the bottom of the chapter. I have no idea why it keeps poping up. Hehehe sorry I don't know how to fix it.
> 
> Peter- 8/9

"You know how I started thinking that Sadik was the mastermind behind the robbery?"

Emil nodded. "What about it?"

"Well, looking back on surveillance records throughout town, another round of Sadik's men were seen snooping around Berwald Oxenstierna's place."

"His building?"

"No, his house."

Well...that's not creepy at all.

"What surveillance video did you get this from?"

"Not a video. I got it from his kid."

Emil made a face. Wait. Berwald and Tino have a kid? But...They're both guys...This isn't like some kind of twisted harem. "What kid?"

Leon smirked. "You mean you don't even recognize your own nephew? Wow, Emil, that's shallow."

Emil sighed. "Well, I just blanked out! Wait! How do you know about my family?"

Leon shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, someone has to search up all the intel for this case. I just happened to stumble over your police record, then pushed a couple buttons and found out everything about you. Did you know that Hetabook is full of personal information?"

Emil stepped back a little. He wasn't scared of Leon, or his weird stalker ability. He was just confused. "How...did you do that? Look up all my information, I mean."

Again, Leon shrugged his shoulders. "The police computer database is really useful." He smirked. "But...I may or may not have hacked into your Hetabook..."

"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU-?" Emil slammed his hand down on the keyboard Leon was currently tracing his long fingers against.

"I told you, I pressed a couple of buttons. Then, I worked some of my special Cantonese magic, and a large order of Emil Steillson is served." He smirked and added under his breath, "And boy, did I enjoy my meal."

Emil narrowed his eyes, forcing himself not to blush. "Sh-shut up...That was horrifyingly cheesy."

Leon shrugged. "It's a waitress joke, what do you expect? Now, where were we...?"

This Asian guy works as a waitress? Aren't waitresses girls...? Emil shook his head, erasing the thoughts from his mind. "Um...something about Berwald's son..."

"Right. So like, Peter, Berwald's son, was left at home with some kind of babysitter. The babysitter isn't important, so I'll keep going. According to police, Peter said he was in the middle of playing a game of Angry Birds on his iPad when he saw, and I quote, "three weird looking guys wearing scary white masks." And to also prove he was there, Peter even took pictures, smart little guy."

Emil leaned against the edge of the table, a thousand thoughts running through his head at once. "Wait a second, what would Sadik want from Berwald's house?"

Leon rewinded the footage on the surveillance video. "Well...Take a look at this."

On the screen, it looked like one of Sadik's henchmen were searching through the Oxenstierna-Väinämöinens' trash bins hastily, the other men looking through the windows.

"What the-"

"Shh...There's, like, more."

A little later in the footage, Sadik's men were seen fishing through the contents of Berwald's mailbox. They pulled out envelope after envelope, finally claiming their hands on a large manilla envelope before scrambling from the Oxenstierna property.

"What the hell was that, Leon?!"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Did you not see those three men stealing something off your future brother-in-law's property?

Emil glared. "Of course I did! I mean...What were they looking for? Why were they looking for it? This doesn't make sense! Sadik would never do anything like this and-!"

"We're going on a field trip. Let's go." The Asian tugged at Emil's sleeve.

"What?! Why the hell do we need to go on a field trip? I'm not a child! And let go of my jacket sleeve you imbecile!" Emil felt like he was being harassed. Curse Captain Hédevéry. Curse my stupid brother and his idiot of a Danish boyfriend.

-linebreaklinebreakyohohotrararayohohotra-

"Back again, are we?"

Sadik's popped out of the front desk, a smile gracing his masked face.

Leon nodded. "Yeah. We're here to ask some more questions." He checked his nails lazily.

"Okay, well then...ask away!" He chirped cheerfully.

Leon pulled out his cellphone, and somehow, he managed to save the surveillance footage onto the phone's memory. "Do you recognize these workers of yours?"

Sadik narrowed his eyes. "I...don't exactly know…"

The video rolled again, and Leon paused on a spot where the three workers' faces could be somewhat seen through the screen. "How 'bout now? Do you, like, recognize anybody from the tape?"

The masked man shook his head. "No, these workers still don't ring a bell. I have a list of all my employees, as well as their IDs back here." He gestured behind the front desk.

Emil flipped through the pages, eyes scanning the photos thoroughly.

"While Emmy takes care of that, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?" Leon smirked at Emil's sudden twitching.

"Well, why not? I don't have anywhere to go, so ask away, I guess." Sadik set himself down on a leather loveseat, releasing a small sigh.

The Asian crossed his legs on the leather couch he was sitting on. "Mr. Adnan, do you have any competition or enemy companies?"

"Hmm...Let me think...There was this one company...What was it...It was a fashion agency. "

Leon's eyes went cold. "...A fashion agency...?"

Sadik nodded. "Yeah...That Greek man, Heracles runs the place...What a lazy ass...But his boyfriend, that Asian cameraman, he's one fine piece of work!"

Leon felt something bubble inside him. It was dark, venemous, and cold. "..."

He's talking about Heracles and Kiku. How dare he! But...Could they? ...No, they couldn't have been behind this! The information that we've collected points to Sadik as the main suspect! There's no way in hell that Kiku and Heracles, out of all people, could've attacked the cafe to kidnap someone. Especially the cafe that I work at.

Emil, noticing a sudden change in the atmosphere decided to jump into the high tension. "Uh, Wang...what's going on here?"

The Hong Kong Chinese said nothing, him being deep in thought. Emil felt a vein in his head pulse slightly. What is that Asian idiot thinking about now? I know we've only started working together recently, but this feels strange for him to be so lost in his mind, especially during an interrogation of all things!

"I'm sorry, Sadik. My coworker just needs some time alone for a second. Do you mind if I just take him away for a moment?"

Sadik shook his head. "Go on right ahead. If he has any more questions for me, just tell me, okay?"

Emil nodded, and with a slight tug, he pulled Leon away from his spot on the chair.

Once he had managed to pull them both away from the Turk's proximity, the Icelandic pinched the still-lost-in-thought Leon. "Oi! What happened back there?" Emil hissed. "I hope you understand that it's a completely stupid decision to just sit your ass down on chair and just sit there!"

"I'm thinking. Shut up for a while and let me, like, think." Leon's voice sounded surprisingly harsh, breaking away from its usual nonchalant manner. "There's no way Kiku and Heracles..."

"...Leon?" No answer. " ...Don't tell me you blanked out again."

Emil sighed; there was no way that idiot was snapping out of whatever he was in the middle of doing anytime soon. So Emil, deciding to be the bigger man (literally, he's a hairpin's width taller than the Asian), marched right over to the Turkish man.

"Mr. Adnan, I'd like to ask you a few questions in the place of my co-worker."

Sadik smiled brightly. "Sure, cutie. Ask me whatever you'd like." He winked flirtatiously.

Emil didn't so much as flush bright red.

No, Emil Steillson didn't get flustered. That right was definitely reserved for a certain snarky and insanely sexy Asian boy-

No, definitely not for Leon.

Emil shoved his thoughts away rather harshly and cleared his throat. "Mr. Adnan, where were you three days ago?"

Sadik grinned. "Well, let me think...I'm pretty sure I was in my office finishing up some paperwork. Do you need me to get that out for you?"

Emil shook his head. "No, that's fine. Now, onto my next question. What time did you leave work?"

Sadik's smile only grew until it formed into one like the Cheshire Cat's. "Well, I can leave right now and take you with me, Ice."

Damn, couldn't the guy get a clue? He was trying to act professional here and all Sadik was doing was trying to seduce him!

Emil instantly regretted ever knowing this guy. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "I said, what time did you leave work?"

Sadik sighed. "Aw, calm down, Ice. I was only playing." Emil didn't know how much of that statement he could believe. "I left around two in the morning. Lots of paper, ya know."

"I hope that you don't plan on jumping around the bush all day."

Finally, he's back from the dead.

"What are you talking about, kid?" Sadik kept his tone light, but the tension in the air was thick enough to rip through.

"I think you know what I'm implying." Leon's eyes glinted dangerously.

What the hell was going on?

"L-Leon...?"

"Shush, babe, not now. I'm, like, trying to work here."

Babe?!

"I don't think you know what you're talking about. What happened to the Mr. Wang that was all into art?"

"Never existed in the first place." The Asian leaned against the loveseat. "Don't think I don't know what you're attempting to do with Emil, flirting with him like that." Leon hissed right into Sadik's ear. "You're not on an almighty pedestal here, Sadik Adnan. I know exactly who you are, I know exactly what you do in your free time. I know about your deal with playing around with all your co-workers, I know about your attraction to Kiku Honda. By the way, he's my half-brother. Don't think that you're going to try and steal Steillson away from-"

"-From whom? From you? Look, buddy, this cutie doesn't belong to you. So I suggest you think about your next few words. Unless you want me to escort you off the premises."

"Look, he belongs to me. So, like, stop trying to get him all flustered and stuff. That face is mine, buddy."

"How do you know? He hasn't even-"

Of course they didn't pay attention to Emil while they were bickering over the stupidest subject ever.

"-he doesn't belong to you, for the last time!"

Of course they didn't notice how Emil's face had turned the most scarlet color that he had ever seen.

"-you're just a sorry excuse for a businessman. You could be lying to his face for all we know."

Of course they didn't notice Emil's embarrassed stuttering in the background.

"-You're just some boring excuse for an Asian consultant!"

"Oh yeah? Say that to my face. Say it."

So naturally, Emil had to put a stop to this.

And there was only one way to do that.

Emil grabbed the back of Leon's collar and wrapped his arms around his body tightly. He could feel sparks of warmth exploding everywhere on the surface of his body, and the pleasant scent of the Asian he was currently trapping in his arms rolled off of him in waves of five spice and...gunpowder?

For a moment, Emil wondered what the pestering feeling in his chest was. It was a slight brush of...something, kissing his heart with the softest touch. It made him feel giddy, but when it passed, a dull ache was left in its wake.

"We're..w-we're together. So shut up and stop arguing!"

Leon grinned and stuck his tongue out at the Turkish man that was now gaping at the two, which Leon proudly pumped his imaginary fist at. When Emil pulled away, he gave the boy a smirk. "Don't you think you could've given me a kiss instead of a hug? Though...I enjoyed that immensely, Emmy."

Emil reddened instantly. "N-no. I'm not going to do that again either. That was just to make you both stop fighting like lovestruck schoolgirls. I wasn't done asking questions yet, and I-"

"No, no, Emmy. We got what we were looking for. We were just leaving." He threw a smug look at Sadik.

"Well, Ice...if you ever get tired of him, you know who to call, 'kay?"

Emil nodded halfheartedly. "Sure..."

-In the Car-

"Why can't I ever call you Ice? Wait, why are you even called Ice?"

"It's because I'm from Iceland, idiot. Stop asking questions, and I'm never touching you again."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it, I could practically feel how hot your cheeks were from a mile away."

"Sh-shut up. I didn't, and will not. EVER."

"Sure you won't, Icy. Sure."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This chapter is really long guys, so I'm gonna prepare you for that (it was 15 pages). Also is just a really super cute HongIce filled filler chapter. I'm seriously not kidding, it's almost disgustingly cute. I love it though. So I hope you enjoy the beginning of Leon's feelings! I promise shit goes down next chapter. XD

-Several days later-

Leon felt like crap.

Maybe he shouldn't have eaten the Chinese food that Arthur's husband had (tried) to make yesterday. But truth be told, it was a hundred times better than the English man's cooking.

But seriously, if you're going to try and make chicken Lo Mein, at least cook the chicken through!

But he didn't.

Thus, Leon's situation.

Americanized Chinese food, Leon thought, would take twenty moons and suns in order to get used to it.

"Nǐ hǎo ma?" (How are you?) Yao's voice piped up behind Leon's door.

"Like hell. Go away before I send Yong Soo after you." Ugh, my throat feels like the chicken Lo Mein I ate...

"Aiyah! Li Xiao, let me in before I send that stupid Korean after you, aru!"

Leon groaned and tucked his head under the pillow he was laying on. "I'd puke the Lo Mein I ate down his hanbok if he tries to grope me. Also, the door's already open!" He felt his stomach churn uncomfortably. "Stupid Yao," he added under his breath.

As Yao pulled the blankets up to Leon's neck and checked his temperature (every five minutes), the constant flutters in his stomach kept growing. "Gēgē wǒ gǎndào ěxīn..." (Older brother, I feel sick...) Yao didn't understand Cantonese that well, so the only way to urgently let him know what was going on was using Mandarin.

And Yao understood every word that Leon said.

"AIYAH! DON'T GET IT ON THE SHEETS, I JUST WASHED THOSE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO! GO TO THE BATHROOM, GO! DON'T GET YOUR PUKE ON THE TILING!"

Yao was way too loud.

Leon staggered his way to the toilet bowl, barely making it in time before the onslaught of soupy chicken and noodles came pouring out of his throat like Tai Mo Shan's Long Falls in his birth country.

-LinebreakallaboardtheAzntrainARUUUU!-

Work went unusually smooth today. Emil decided to take the morning-to-afternoon work shift, and Lukas and Mathias were on duty today. So, in other words, no one was bothering him, and it was going to be quiet and productive day.

Emil focused all of his attention on the computer in front of him, and he managed to gain information on the three guys that were lurking around Berwald's house.

Toris Laurinaitis. 24 years old. He seemed like a pretty normal person. Toris was currently working part time at a pet store. Emil found it difficult to imagine him stealing from Berwald's house.

Eduard Von Bock. 24 years old. Emil thought that he looked more like a "behind the scenes hacker" more than anything. Although, he found that Eduard used to work for Ber's company a while ago.

Raivis Galante. 17 years old. He seemed a little young to be robbing some guy's mailbox. And to his surprise, the guy had quite a record with drunk driving.

Each of these guys had something in common. Or should Emil say, someone.

They were all hired by a Russian guy named Ivan Braginsky. Emil took the last few hours of his work time searching up information on him.

Ivan Braginsky. The former Russian president of the company Sadik Adnan now runs. Ivan was kicked out of the company due to an attempted break-in at Berwald's company to steal secret information. He could be easily characterized by his lilac eyes and platinum blonde hair, along with a strange purplish green scarf.

Emil narrowed his eyes. This guy...He's another possible suspect. We'll have to interrogate him.

And by thinking that very thought, Emil realized he forgot that someone was missing here.

"Where the hell is Leon?!"

Grabbing his jacket and keys, Emil abandoned his research to look for a certain Asian co-worker.

-Linebreakalinebreakandtacocatsmeow-

"Li Xiao~! Brother Yao (what the heck, Yong Soo? Yao is your cousin) told me to check up on you, da-ze~!" Came a rowdy voice from behind Leon's door.

He desperately wanted to show his Korean cousin how much he wanted him near his room, starting with yanking that stupid hair curl off his head.

"Yong Soo, can you like, leave me alone? Go take your Korean ass somewhere else." His voice was barely audible, so of course, Yong Soo didn't hear him.

Leon sighed, hearing the door open loudly and slam shut. He removed his head from under his pillow to glare at the Korean that was disturbing his peace.

However, it wasn't a Korean that he saw smiling down upon him. It was an adorable Icelandic boy with silver hair and violet eyes.

"E-Emil?!" Leon blinked his eyes rapidly, wondering if this was just a dream.

"What are you talking about, Xiao-Xiao?"

Leon gulped. Why the hell was Emil calling him by the Korean's nickname for him? He narrowed his eyes; Yong Soo better not have claimed his chest. Where the heck did Yong Soo go anyway?

"Why're you here? How did you even get here?"

Emil gave him a goofy grin. "Heh, you're acting really funny, Xiao. I wanted to see how you're doing, of course! All I did was walk to your room, da-ze. You're acting really wacko."

Leon didn't think Emil could get any more like a certain Korean. Now he was using words like "da-ze!" Man, his head was spinning and his stomach couldn't stop churning. "Come here."

Emil did as he was told, sitting down and staring at him with bright eyes. "You want to read some of the manhwa I have? I got a whole new series today, da-ze!"

I didn't know that Ice had a Korean manga obsession. That's strange.

"Nah...'M okay." Leon slipping his hand into Emil's hand unknowingly, tracing Chinese characters on the back of it.

我. I.

"Uh...Xiao? You okay?"

喜欢. Like.

"No...My stomach won't stop hurting, and my head feels like crap. I can't even think straight."

你. You.

Emil pouted. "Poor Xiao-Xiao. You need a hug, don't you?"

Leon shrugged. "Not really. I feel like I'm-"

Arms squeezed around his middle, and suddenly hands were groping at his chest. Leon let out a strangled mix between a wheeze and an outraged gasp, pushing Emil off of him.

No, this was definitely NOT Emil.

And yes, he finally knew that he was definitely hallucinating.

"IM YONG SOO! GET. OUT. OF. MY. ROOM. NOW!" He accentuated each syllable with a bone crushing shove to the shoulder.

The latter cackled, sprinting out the door. "AT LEAST I KNOW WHO YOU'RE MADLY IN LOVE WITH NOW, DA-ZE! I bet he's insanely cute!"

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned into his pillow, yelling out a few choice words in Cantonese.

I hate being sick.

-linebreakImYongSoosaysI'mYongSoo-

Emil could hear a mangled string of angered shouts and yells coming from inside the house.

He's clearly in a lot of pain. I wonder what happened.

As co-workers, exchanging phone numbers would've been beneficial for easy contacting. But Emil, being the flustered schoolgirl he (still) is, refused (repeatedly) on the subject, for reasons he didn't wish to share.

As he listened to the high-pitched screeching of the bell, he could hear the loud stomping of feet pounding down the stairs. The mahogany door was yanked open, revealing a short Chinese man sporting a ebony ponytail.

"No soliciting. Go away, aru."

Emil inwardly let his jaw drop. That's the first thing he says?! "Um, no, sir. That's not what I-"

The Chinese man's eyes brightened. "Then are you here for Im Yong Soo? Wait, you're that police officer from way back! You're probably here to take him away from me forever, right, aru?"

Emil saw the happiest Asian man on Earth.

"N-no, I'm here to meet with Leon. I just wanted to-"

Yao's expression darkened. "Did Li Xiao blow up that English freak's house again?! That stupid boy needs to grow up, aru! I swear-"

Emil felt his eyes twitch in irritation. "No, sir. I just wanted to make sure that he was alright. He wasn't at work today, so I came to check up on him."

Yao seemed to take time to absorb the silver haired boy's words. "I see...Well, let me show you to his room. My name is Yao by the way. I'm sorry about my earlier reaction, aru. It's just that there's so many businessmen trying to sell their useless products. As for Yong Soo, well, if you ever go back into the police workforce, you can arrest him any time you want. Here, come in."

As Emil stepped into the main room, he could see the (expensive) Asian decorations adorning the walls and shelves. It was clearly kept well-dusted, and intricately patterned red silk covered the couch cushions. A worn bronze-colored statue caught Emil's eye.

"Is that an actual-"

"-Terracotta warrior, aru? No, that's just a copy that my brother bought from Chinatown. And by brother, I mean that delinquent Li Xiao."

Talk about brotherly love...Not even Lukas and I talk trash about each other like this...Then again, Lukas always treats me like a kid...

They stopped at the first door on the second floor. A bundle of crimson firecrackers hung from a thread precariously, and Emil couldn't help but step back.

Yao noticed Emil's slight flinch back from Leon's firecrackers, and he let out a loud laugh. "Don't worry, aru. They won't go off; they're snuffed."

The Icelandic breathed a small sigh of relief and ran a hand through his tousled hair. Geez, he acts like he's used to this sort of thing...

The Chinese man knocked at the door (though banging his fist against the door seemed like a better description). "Li Xiao! The police officer is here to see you!"

"What police officer? I don't remember getting in trouble with the cops. Shut up and bother someone else, teacher." The muffled rasp of Leon's voice responded.

Teacher?! I thought this guy was Leon's brother.

"Aiyah! Li Xiao, get your ass to the door right now! I don't care if you're dying, you come answer this door right now!"

A mumbled hiss of words in some kind of language Emil didn't understand came from the other side of the door, along with the slow shuffling of bare feet.

Emil felt his face redden as he looked Leon over.

And over.

And over, and over, and over.

The mischievous light that usually hid behind Leon's apathetic eyes had flickered out, his face sporting a sleepy and almost dead-like expression. Arms that were usually covered in crisp folded sleeves were now exposed, displaying a slight outward curve of muscle. Instead of wearing a white collared shirt, the Asian wore a silk sleeveless red vest, which was lined with a Mandarin collar.

And the most miraculous thing of all:

Leon's hair was tangled and disheveled, unlike his usual "swept back" bangs and neatly arranged dark brown mop.

"Aiyah! Why are you so messy?! You're sick, not dead, aru!"

"How was I supposed to know that someone was coming over?" Li Xiao tugged on one of his falling hair strands, and yawned.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let him in, aru."

Emil's eyes widened. Me?! In Leon's room?! "Um-um...It's okay. I just wanted to check up on you, and you're sick too, so I-"

Of course Leon would drag him in anyway.

And lock the door.

"What are you doing?!" Emil hissed.

"I'm like, saving your ass. Do you want my Korean cousin groping you?"

Emil tugged the edge of his sleeves. "Well...no..."

"Good. I could smell his scent from here." Leon stuck his tongue out in distaste. "Kimchi and Korean party vibes."

Emil stared at his Asian co-worker as if he was insane. "I...better go...You're getting delusional..."

Leon didn't stop him. Instead, he held three fingers up, bringing them down slowly one by one.

Three...

...Two...

What is he doing?!

...One...

"XIAO-XIAO! BROTHER YAO TOLD ME YOU HAVE A GUEST OVER! IS IT THE CUTE ICELANDIC BOY YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?! I WANT TO MEET HI-"

Thunk.

The Korean's head slammed into Leon's door, shaking the door violently. Emil was about to open the door to check if he was alright, that is, until he was pulled back by long limber fingers.

"Don't. Open. That. Door."

"Why? He's hurt. I just want to see if he's okay."

"That's what Kiku said; right before he was groped until his face turned ten explicit shades of red."

Emil took one last glance at the door, before surrendering, both of his pale hands in the air. Leon nodded in approval once before marching right over to his door and...

Kicking it.

Yes, he just marched right over to his door and threw his foot at it.

"What the hell are you doing, are you crazy?!"

The Asian ignored him, instead, he yelled (just loud enough so a certain Im Yong Soo could hear him), "I know you're still there, Yong Soo! You better like, get lost before I get the policeman in my room to arrest you and take you away!" He heard the Korean snickering. "And not in that way, you stupid pervert!"

"I wasn't thinking of that though, Brother Xiao! So you're the pervert!" He cackled loudly before skittering away.

Leon shrugged, crawling back under his blanket sanctuary on his bed. "Ice, I'm hungry."

Emil narrowed his eyes. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Get me some food; what else?"

"It's your house! Get it yourself." Emil leaned his lanky frame against Leon's closet door. "Tsk, you're the one who's a maid."

"But Iccccccccceeeeeeeeeee~! I, like, want food right now. And I'm so sick that I might die! I need food right now, like, right now." He snuggled himself further into the blankets. "Please, Ice?"

"No. I don't care if you're sick."

"But I, like, might be dying! Can't you grant me this final dying wish?"

"No."

Leon pouted. "Okay, I didn't want to do this, but..." He shuffled himself to the edge of the bed, extending his bare arm out and grabbing Emil's wrist, sending him sprawling onto the Asian's blanketed stomach. "...I'm going to have to puke whatever's left of that shitty Americanized Chinese food on your expensive, high-quality jacket."

Emil's eyes widened. No...! Not my jacket! This thing cost me an arm and a leg! I can't afford to lose this thing! Plus, Lukas picked it out for me! He'd be totally pissed if he found Asian splat on it! The Icelandic started struggling, desperately trying to pull himself free of the other boy's hold. "Okay, okay! Let me go, I'll get you your damn food! Just let go, Leon, and don't get any of your Asian hurl on my jacket!" Leon released him, sending Emil stumbling back before he left the room in a frustrated, flustered heap.

Leon chuckled. "Who's the maid now, Icy?"

-A Little While Later...-

"Here's your stupid food. Eat it and shut up. I'm not doing anymore errands for you."

"Aw, but I was going to, like, give you your tip." Leon winked and smirked, his thick eyebrows raising a bit.

"No thanks, I'm good." Emil took a seat on Leon's bed, digging his fingers into the red silk comforter.

The Asian shrugged, but said nothing. There was an awkward lull in the air, neither of the boys saying anything. Leon ate in silence, nibbling at his food with little appetite.

"I thought you said you were hungry, moron."

"I just wanted you to be my maid. The only thing that would make this better is if you were in a maid's dress." He started laughing, but it wasn't like any of his other short chuckles. This was different, more...genuine in some ways.

Emil internally slapped his forehead. If I keep thinking strange things like this I'm going to become mad.

Madly in lo-

"Shut. Up." Emil slapped his hand over his head.

The latter looked up at him in confusion. "What's going on with you?"

Emil shook his head. "It's nothing, forget about it. I was just talking to myself."

Leon made a face. "If you say so..." His face contorted even more, and his hands went to clutch at his mouth shakily.

"Hey, you." Emil leaned over him. "Are you okay?"

Cute. He's concerned for my well-being.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Another wave of nausea hit him like a Korean groping to the stomach. "...Hngh..."

Emil frowned. "You don't sound fine. Did you take any medication?"

"..." Leon shook his head, an expression similar to pain written across his face.

The Icelandic narrowed his eyes and smoothed a hand over the Asian's forehead. "Damn, your head's steaming! God, Leon, I'm getting you some medicine."

He would've made a snarky remark if it wasn't for his stomach feeling like it was splitting in two. Leon forced a bitter fountain of bile and noodle slop down. "Don't bother, ngh...Yao has some, geh...herbs downstairs..."

Emil quickly yanked the door open and sped downstairs. Leon felt the sweat on his forehead drop down slowly, licking at his ear before dribbling onto his vest. The tiny droplets seemed to mesmerize him for what seemed like hours before Emil returned with a steaming cup of what looked to be tea.

"Here," Emil thruster the porcelain cup at him, "Yao made it."

Leon took a bitter sip. "It would've tasted better if you had made it, Ice." The bile in his throat didn't burn as badly, and it didn't seem to jump into his mouth every five seconds.

"No way in hell am I going to make anything for you." Emil glared weakly.

The Asian gulped down the last of the dark liquid in the cup, staring into the bowl-like container. "Ah, the tea leaves have told my fortune..."

"Don't change the subject!"

"They tell of deep longing, and because of this, a fatal turn of events will occur..." His voice lowered quietly, as if he was telling the scariest story in the world.

Emil scoffed. "Oh, please! Don't tell me you believe in that superstitious crap!"

Leon set his cup on the desk beside his bed. "Well, I'm Asian. Of course I believe in superstitions, luck, fate, fortune. Don't you Icelanders have special beliefs?"

Emil frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I don't. I don't know about the other people in Iceland. My brother and I weren't brought up with any special superstition. Although, Lukas is one of the leading members in our community's Dark Magic Circle. I don't know why he believes in that stuff, magic doesn't exist."

"Well, no wonder you thought this special fortune telling was crap!"

Emil pouted. "Tch, well, that stupid fortune thing was no more than a little prediction you made up."

"Well, you do know that if you say 'Magic doesn't exist,' a fairy, like, dies, right?"

"You're utterly stupid, honestly. That only applies if you say 'Fairies aren't real.'"

Leon gasped mockingly, a hand planted to his cheek in feigned shock. "Emmy! You said-! You're a monster! How could you say that?!"

Emil rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you're such a pain in the ass."

Leon would've laughed.

But...instead...

"Yo, Emil...that tea isn't working...Gonna puke..." He staggered out of bed, his head spinning.

"Agh! Don't aim your stuff at me!" Emil pushed his co-worker into the bathroom next door, and forced Leon in front of the toilet bowl. "Here."

Leon clutched the toilet ring with clammy hands, the now-sour stomach acid mixed with digested chicken Lo Mein taking its leave out of his gut. All the while, Emil patted Leon's back gently, calming the frenzy in his body.

"Shit," Leon breathed out, "I'm a mess."

Before Emil's mind could scream out 'a hot mess,' or some weird crap like that, the Asian started another round of "Lo Mein Mouth Muck." Leon motioned him to leave, groaning loudly and holding back his hair with a single fist. Honestly, Emil felt bad. He felt bad that Leon had to suffer with his stomach, and with that rowdy family. But still, it must be nice to have a bunch of relatives...

Emil untied his white lacy bow that had been wrapped around his collar and attempted to coax Leon's tight grip loose from his hair. The Asian shook his head, a low groan emitting from his lips.

"Dammit, Leon! I'm not going to snip it all off, just let me do this." He felt his fingers slacken. "I see your arm is getting tired..."

Leon gave a sickly groan again, his hand slipping from his dark locks, being replaced with a pale Icelandic hand. Emil took the ribbon in his freehand and captured Leon's long tresses.

Over and under, a large loop with one end, tuck it under, and pull the last end up and tighten.

When Emil had removed his hands from the raven silk on Leon's head, a small ponytail shone proudly instead of the tousled mess before. "There, now you can puke with your hair at least out of your face."

But Leon didn't puke.

No, he laughed.

It was weak, and it sounded more like a half-moan, but nonetheless it was laughter.

"What are you laughing at?!"

"I'm sorry, it's just-you're being such a girl right now and I-I, like, can't stop, I'm sorry! This is just so-this whole situation-!" Leon snorted.

Emil crossed his arms and fell back, pouting. "Well, excuse me! That was a friend helping a friend! And for your information, you act and look like a pregnant woman, holding your face over the toilet like that."

A long pause suddenly fell over the two, each boy looking at the other with a trivial expression.

Hmph, serves him right. Calling me a girl is offensive.

Hm...That wasn't, like, too bad of a statement, actually.

Tch, and that ponytail makes him look more girlier than me...

This ponytail really is comfortable...and is that a bow?

Wait a second, I'm not girly!

Emil cheeks flushed pink, and the boy opposite of him burst out laughing once more.

"You, you really are a girl! Look, you're blushing just like one!"

"You're definitely delusional...You're definitely a madman, I'm going home."

This made Leon shut up instantly. "Wait...Ice!" He clutched onto the other's jacket. "Please, don't go. Don't leave me alone with them. Please, don't leave me alone with Yong Soo and Yao. They're going to torture me and harass me...pleassseeeeeee Ice."

Ugh, he's so annoying...and whiny...he's whiny when he's sick.

Emil pinched the bridge of his nose and released a long sigh. "Whatever. It's not like I have anything else to do, besides the case we're working on."

Leon let go of his jacket and smiled, right before he turned back around and let his stomach unfurl once more.

-Linebreakyagottahurlifyawantromancetounfurl-

Leon had forced Emil into lying down next to him, and they had spent the last half hour talking about random life crap.

"-and sometimes I get this burning feeling in my chest whenever Yao and Kiku are talking with each other and stuff, and it makes me feel...strange."

Emil lifted his head from the pillow. "So you don't know what that feeling is, do you?" It's just like the feeling I used to get around Mathias and Lukas.

"No."

"How long have you felt this feeling?"

"I don't know. A little over a couple years, ever since Kiku reunited with Yao after moving here."

Emil smiles; he knows exactly what his friend is feeling. "You're feeling jealous."

Leon gave him a face between extreme surprise and utter disgust. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Well, you said you felt this intense feeling in your chest whenever you see Yao and Kiku together. It's not like, relationship jealousy. It's more like...platonic jealousy. You feel neglected by your brother because they don't relate with you like they used to. It's not a bad thing, I mean, I felt like that for a while whenever I saw Mathias with Lukas."

"...You really know your stuff."

"It's just experience, it's nothing, really."

Leon smiled at the ceiling. "Ya know, Kiku and his fiancée are coming over for dinner. You should really stay over, I mean, you'll risk getting groped by Yong Soo, but my cousin Mei Lin will keep him in check. Plus, you can help me out with my...ah, jealousy."

"How many relatives do you live with?!"

"Well...there's Mei Lin, my cousin. She's a year younger than me. Then there's Yong Soo, Kiku, Yao...that's it...I think."

"Don't you have parents?"

"Well, I did. But they passed away when I was younger."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

An awkward lull dawned over the conversation. Leon didn't try to start in a new topic, instead, he began drinking the new cup of herbal tea that was given to him by Yao.

"If it makes you feel any better, my parents are kind of dead too." Emil brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes.

And the lull continued, neither of them knowing what else to say. Leon's hand inched towards the Icelanders, and until he finally realized it, Emil began to babble aimlessly.

"-and I-Leon? What're you doing?"

Leon didn't answer, for his eyes had fluttered shut and his breathing had evened out. However, his hand was tightly clasped in the other's, tracing random symbols on his palm.

Emil tried not to squirm from the light, ticklish feeling that was accented with each stroke of the Asian's thumb pad.

"Leon...Leon, let go..."

I. 我

"Dude, you're asleep. How can you grip things so tight?! Leon!"

Like. 喜欢

"Leon!" Emil had resorted to whining, he could feel his usually cold hands warming up the longer the latter held them. "...This is...okay, I guess."

You. 你

"...Shhh, Ice. I'm trying to pretend to sleep."

Emil nearly slapped him.

-linebreakpoipoipoiyummyYaofoodda-ze-

Emil had to admit, sitting with a bunch of other Asians definitely was a little unnerving, especially since they were all giving you curious gazes around the table.

"Aiyah! Emil, you should eat more! You're so skinny, and your hair is white!"

And that, was definitely unnerving.

Just because I have a pale shade of hair doesn't mean that I'm malnutricized...

"Don't worry, my brother always forces everyone to eat more than they have to. Ever since I kind of exploded the fridge, he's been forcing us to finish everything so we don't have leftovers..." Leon plucked another pile of stir-fry onto his plate.

"You blew up your refrigerator?!" Emil gasped. "The fridge is where you can store everything, and it's an efficient and cool box...thing!"

"Hey, Xiao! I think Emil loves the fridge more than you, da-ze!" A certain Korean cackled.

Leon's expression suddenly darkened dangerously. "If you say one more word, I will burn your whole manhwa collection."

They both sound like Mathias and Lukas when they argue...WAIT, DID YONG SOO JUST SAY I LOVED THE FRIDGE?

"Hold up. Let's make one thing clear; I'm not in love with an electrical appliance. It's just that...I have a very fond spot for fridges. They're efficient."

"So this is Leon's brand new boy toy...He's  
kě'ài (cute), Xiao-Xiao." A girl chirped brightly, but Emil felt weird vibes around her.

Emil didn't know what that meant, but he knew that it probably was something explicit or something that would make him get all flustered.

"Oh, he's hěn kě'ài (very cute), Mei Lin." Leon smirked.

"I'm right here, you do realize that, right?" Emil set his fork on his now-empty plate, glaring in Leon's direction.

"He's very feisty, though." The girl giggled, more weird vibes rolling off of her.

"That's how I like them."

Emil decided to tune the rest of the stupidly pathetic conversation out, instead, he focused his attention on the quiet man next to him. He hadn't said much throughout the whole meal, besides murmuring a few words to Yao.

I like this guy way better than anybody else in Leon's family. He doesn't say much.

Noticing him staring at him, Kiku cleared his throat. "You must be Leon's friend."

Emil nodded slowly. "I...yes, I am."

"My name is Kiku Honda. I'm his half-brother. It's a pleasure to meet you." The Japanese man held his hand out.

Emil shook it lightly. "Emil Steillson. It's nice to meet you too."

As awkward as it was, Emil enjoyed the small talk that was exchanged between Kiku and himself. He learned that surprisingly, this man worked as a photographer for a fashion agency, the president of that agency was whom he was to marry in several months. Leon described him as being more active in his younger years, taking lessons in fighting with the katana and other self defense methods, but he was more composed and calm now, he seemed way older than he actually was.

Kiku excused himself from the table, which gave Emil a huge glimpse of the ring he sported on his left ring finger.

Hmm...Looks a little girly, doesn't it?

Emil's attention was suddenly focused on someone else when his world suddenly flipped upside down, his back arching against something boney.

"Let's go, Ice, we, like, have work to do."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Finally school is over and summer is here, I'm so happy! So we're getting down to the ship, and well the actually case. Get reading for a ride of feels, and a bit of shock, Hope you like the chaper! XD

"Dammit, Leon! Let me go! Your shoulder hurts!" The world span around him in dizzying twists and turns, the bumpy actions of Leon's walking made Emil's head smash against his captor's lower back. The Icelander had to force his eyes close so he didn't let his gaze fall any lower.

He heard a door being pushed open, and Emil suddenly found himself in a crumpled mess on Leon's bed.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on in our case?" Leon spun himself around on the spinning office chair in front of his desk.

"I don't think that's very good for your health," Emil pointed out. "But I did get a list of suspects' information. Do you have a laptop here?"

Leon nodded, pulling out a sleek black rectangle. "This is a gaming laptop, but it should do, right?"

In just a couple seconds of booting up, the screen flashed into a dozen blinding colors and logged itself in. The Icelander signed into the HVPD database, and pulled out the digital folder of the case file he was working on.

"Your theory about Sadik was incorrect. I do believe we have a new main suspect." Emil pulled up a photo of a rather intimidating looking man, if you call baby-faced criminals intimidating. "Ivan Braginsky. He was arrested six months ago for breaking into Berwald's facility in an attempt to steal information. In addition to himself..." Three more photos popped up. "...He hired three henchman to accompany him, those of which claim to have been blackmailed."

Leon narrowed his eyes. "I can't believe this guy's our main suspect. I mean like, he doesn't even look scary."

Emil shrugged. "Well, now that we know who our new main suspect is, what are we going to do now?"

"Kick his ass and send him to prison."

"Sounds fun. However, I don't entirely think Hédévery will allow much of the 'ass kicking' without any evidence."

"So...?"

"So, that's where you come in. You're going to use your hacking abilities-"

"-Cantonese magic."

"Yeah, no. Anyway, you're going to use your hacking abilities for good this time. Instead of looking up personal information about me, you're going to take a look into the HVPD database. Look up all of the files and cases concerning Ivan Braginsky in the last seven to eight months and report back to me as soon as you can."

"M'kay, Boss. I'll do all the dirty work, and you can, like, plan our next move."

"Can you not make it sound like I'm a mafia boss in an old gangster movie?"

Leon snickered quietly and took his laptop back from Emil. After working said "Cantonese magic," Leon managed to find a couple of files that were practically overflowing with information about the Russian.

Last Name: Braginsky

First Name: Ivan

Age: 28 years old

Sex: Male

Date of Birth: XX/XX/XXXX

Hair Color: Platinum Blonde

Eye Color: Violet

Height: 5'11"

Weight: XXX lbs

Description: On XX/XX/XXXX, Ivan Braginsky was apprehended for reportedly harassing pet shop employee, Toris Laurinatis. No charges pressed, suspicions to why still stand an unsolved mystery.

Recently Updated: On XX/XX/XXXX, Braginsky was apprehended again for breaking into Möbler, a company run by its president, Berwald Oxenstierna. No charges have been filed yet, though has clearly stated that he will be suing as soon as his company has expanded.

It has been noted that Braginsky may have taken the job as an assassin working for the Vrede en Liefde.

"What's the vrede en liefde? Some Metallica band?"

"No; the Vrede en Liefde is a mafia that's located in a really bad neighborhood. I mean, I've even been there myself once. I got harassed and stuff, and-Wait a second, I already told you this story. Anyway, the Vrede en Liefde is a notorious gang that is bad news for the HVPD. Nearly a third of our cases are unsolved because of that gang."

"You think they'd hire an Asian hacking genius; someone that's also good with blowing stuff up?"

"Shut up. Look up Braginsky's last known whereabouts."

"So pushy, Ice."

Leon pulled up another window, and a list of Ivan's banking deposits, withdrawals, countless accommodations, and occupations appeared.

"Woah, like, this guy has a huge rep. His most recent job was working in an-! ...Not cool."

"What?" Emil leaned over Leon's shoulder, craning his neck to reach the screen.

"This naughty assassin works as an elementary teacher...in my brother's school."

Emil smirked. "I think it's time to launch another interrogation, don't you?"

"...What do you mean?" Leon's liquid golden eyes widened. "No...He's my bro, dude! That's totally not cool. Seriously, I don't think he's going to be much help to this case. Let's just blow up the elementary school or something and drag this Russian dude to prison hell."

Emil slammed the laptop close. "No way! What if class is still in session, huh? How are you going to explain to all of the parents of all those children of what happened? 'Oh, we were taking down an assassin that just happened to be an elementary teacher.' Or maybe something like, 'I'm sorry; we were just trying to knock down a potential terrorist.'"

"Well...when you say it that way, it sounds like people will be getting hurt."

"Because that's exactly what will happen!"

"Tch, whatever. We have to apprehend him somehow."

-linebreakYaobabywegonnainterrogateyou-

-Several days later when Leon is all better-

"What, aru?! What do you mean there's an assassin in the school I work at?!"

Emil held the bridge of his nose in irritation. "I said, 'break the news to him lightly.'"

"It's not like doing what you said would, like, make any difference to his reaction. Right, teach?"

"I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS, ARU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

"Chill, teach. There's no need to worry. There's just an assassin coming after you. And he just so happens to work at your school, and he just so happens to be one of our main suspects. There's nothing a little Jackie Chan magic can't do!"

"I know damn well that there's an assassin in the school! You already told me that, aru! What I don't understand is how he got there in the first place, or why he's there!"

Emil rested his chin on his hand. "Well, those are all very good questions. First things first, though. Have you heard of the name Ivan Braginsky before?"

Yao glared; he obviously didn't like being asked questions. "Maybe. I don't know, aru. That name doesn't ring any bell in particular. Stop asking me questions!"

The Icelander pulled out a picture of said assassin, watching with slight amusement as Yao snatched the picture out of his hands and gawked at it.

"Hold on, hold on. I know this guy, aru! He's the one who's been stalking me!"

Leon's eyes bugged. "Hold up, teach. There's a guy stalking you?! You didn't even bother to tell Kiku? Or me? Or Mei? Even Yong Soo?"

Yao pouted. "Well, I didn't think it mattered, aru! I was afraid that if you guys found out, you all would murder the man! I had no idea that this weirdo was an assassin!"

Emil tucked the photo back into his breast pocket. "Well, now that that's out of the way, what classroom is he teaching in?"

"Room 107."

"Can I kill him now that we know he's an assassin?"

"No."

-linebreakhongicecreamisyummy-

A/N: We are now switching to third person view to make things more hilariously dramatic. Enjoy!

"Ivan Braginsky, please come down to the main office." The intercom's fuzzy static blared into fourth grade classroom.

"Kol, kol, kol. I'll just be a moment, da?"

His students nodded, and began chatter wildly. Basically, they were screaming.

"Ah, the joys of raising brats...Makes me just wanna plow their tiny undeveloped brains with special knowledge."

He walks down the hallway towards the main office, when he hears a certain Chinese man's yelling.

"Aiyah! Don't put your pencils into the vial, aru!"

Ah, yes. There's the reason why I haven't blown up the school yet.

The door to the main office opens. Closes.

"Mr. Braginsky?"

"Yes, that's me." A thick Russian-accented voice replied. "Why was I called down?"

The main office lady stood up and left. "You'll find out," she replied over her shoulder. "They told me not to be here for the time being."

"They?"

A short silver-haired boy stepped into the room. "Ivan Braginsky, was it?"

Ivan nodded. "Correct. I don't understand what is going on, exactly."

"Like, seriously? Dude, you're gonna seriously be like that?" Another short guy stepped out, this time an Asian with brown hair.

"I still don't understand. Why am I here? Why aren't you boys in school?"

The silver haired boy gawked. "Excuse me, but I happen to have been a college graduate for several years now."

"And you?"

The Asian shrugged. "I just graduated several years back too. I mean like, school was too boring so I kinda like, graduated early."

'Wait. Hold up. Is he trying to get information on us?' The Asian and Icelandic exchanged glances.

A/N: And now we use names because we're lazy.

Leon narrowed his eyes and grabbed Ivan's throat, slamming him against the wall. "We'll be asking the questions here on out, Ivan Braginsky."

"Let me go, and we can all go home with four limbs, da?"

Emil cleared his throat. "You're an assassin, are you not? Working for the Vrede en Liefde? We've researched up on you, so there's no need to lie." He smirked. "We've got you cornered, Braginsky."

The Russian sighed. "Well, it can't be helped now. It is true. But I have taken up the job of an elementary teacher and have no intention of killing anymore people."

The Icelander's smirk widened. "Oh really? That's a damn lie and you know it. We all know the reason you haven't blown up this school yet is because of a certain person whom you've taken an intense interest in."

Leon glared at the Emil dully. "Not cool, bro. Not cool."

Ivan raised an eyebrow curiously. "Oh? And do you have any evidence to back up your statement?"

Emil's cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment. "Well, no. But we res-"

"Then you can't charge me for terrorism, da? So I'm innocent. Let me go, and there will be no hurting involved here."

Leon tightened his grip. "I don't really think that's, like, going to happen."

The Russian frowned slightly. "That's unfortunate." Ivan pried the Asian's grip off of him, and switched positions with Leon. Ivan had him pinned to the ground now, and somehow he had acquired a metal pipe that was slowly blocking oxygen from slipping down Leon's throat. "You have such a skinny throat, much like your brother's."

"H..How do you-ACK!-know that I'm his...bro...ther?"

"I did some researching, too. After all, if you want to take hostages in some lowly cafe, you have learn all about the employees. As for knowing the relations between you two, Yao was just for fun. Kol, kol, kol, kol."

Suddenly, the metal click of a finger ready to tap the trigger of a gun stopped all conversation. The grip on Leon's neck was loosened slightly, and he took this time to use the pipe against his perpetrator. A simple pressure on the fingers sent the Russian cursing in pain, finger bones cracked from the pipe's pressure. Leon then had a good look of who was holding the gun, and he stopped an appreciative smile from growing into his lips.

There stood Emil, like one of those action-packed Jackie Chan movies, gun ready to fire and placed between pale hands. In some ways, he reminded Leon of a certain Finnish waitress a lot, the serious expression of cuteness, the way the stances of their legs were always slightly spaced out, giving off a slightly intimidating look about them. Leon couldn't help but stare.

Emil narrowed his amethyst eyes, the smirk that had plastered itself into his face earlier had returned. "Even if we can't charge you with terrorism, we can charge you under the charges of stalking and struggling and fighting against a police officer." He kicked Ivan over onto his stomach, and linked both of his hands behind his back with cold steel handcuffs. "Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. Did I mention that I was recording this on my smartphone?" He pointed to a small device that was mounted against a potted plant. "So yeah, I think I've got evidence for every charge I'm going to place on your head. Ivan Braginsky, you're under arrest for stalking, struggling against the apprehending from the HVPD, and you also confessed to being the mastermind behind attempting to kidnap Tino Väinämöinen. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can, and will be used against you in court." He turned to the back of the main office. "You can take him away now."

Two police officers strolled in, to be more specific, Mathias and Lukas stumbled in, looking extremely tousled and flushed. Emil shielded his eyes with his hands immediately. "Gross! Can you guys not perform some type of PDA every time you're on the job?"

Lukas, although still maintaining his apathetic composure, seemed amused. "Hm. We all know that you'll be doing the same, Ice. It's just a matter of time." He tilted his head to the side, letting his gaze fall upon Leon, who, in turn, gave back a small snicker.

Emil wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Shut up! That's totally gross, you pervert of a brother!" Shut up, before I start admitting to it.

Mathias decided to speak up. "Aw, come on, Icy! He's just joking around!" He pulled up the Russian back on his feet, pushing him out the door. "It's time for us to head out! We'll see you back at the station!"

"Hopefully not licking each other's faces like you just did." Emil mumbled, and Lukas stuck his tongue out teasingly.

Leon smirked as the Norwegian and Dane left. "They're cool. Especially your brother. He's super cool."

Emil picked up his phone and stopped recording. "Damn you, I'm going back to the station. Don't get into my car. I'm not letting you in, moron."

The Asian ignored the Icelander's weak threats, following Emil's trail like a hyperactive puppy. "Aw, come on, Ice. You're the super coolest. I'm not joking, come on."

"Fine, whatever. You can get a ride from someone else. Or walk home."

"Awwww, but come on! I like riding with you! You get all flustered over the silliest things and it's super adorable!"

"Shut up. If you keep saying things like that I'm never letting you into the car." Emil forced his flaming blush down, instead, he glared as intensely as he possibly could at the Asian.

They walked towards Emil's car, and said Icelandic boy shoved himself into the front seat. When the Asian just stood there, looking smug as he always did, Emil crossed his arms and glowered. "What are you waiting for? Get in!"

Leon smiled and sat in the passenger seat, setting his seat as far back as it possibly could. "You're funny, Ice."

"Whatever." His hand fumbled with his keys, and they dropped to the floor, a space in between himself and that stupidly stupid Asian.

"Hold up, I can-"

"No it's okay, I got-"

"Hey, I feel them here-"

"I know, just let me-!"

~~~ Doki.

"Oh." Their index fingers, instead of linking around a metal keychain, had somehow managed to find each other, linking around each other like some awkward form of pinky promising.

"Well...I, like, um..."

A soft clearing of the throat. "Uh..."

"This...is nice...?"

"You're still delusional, China."

Leon pulled away, a smirk playing on his lips. "China?"

Emil covered up his heavy blush by picking up his keys. "Yeah, well...If you can call me by my birth country, I can call you by yours."

"I was born in Hong Kong, Emmy."

"Tch, whatever. I'll call you Hong, then. Stupid moron." Emil didn't know how he could feel any more humiliated.

"Sounds good, Ice."

The rest of the ride to the station was silent.

-linebreakwoopwoopstereotypicalfluff-

"He's in holding now." Lukas ruffled Emil's silver mop, earning a choice Icelandic word. "In fact, he wants to talk with you for a couple moments. He asked this to be a private matter."

"And you're just going to go along with it?! He's a registered dangerous criminal now!"

"Don't worry, you can just tell me what happened later. And plus, Wang told me how you can 'totally use a gun like a boss.'"

Emil grumbled, closing the door behind him.

"We meet again, young consultant boy."

"Shut it; I'm here because you sent me in."

"Funny how a criminal such as myself can have so much power over an innocent soul such as yours, da?"

"..." Seriously, this guy is an even bigger pain in the arse than I thought.

"You see, I wanted to talk to you because I have information that you want."

"...What do you mean...?"

"It seems that at this very moment, your brother-in-law is in quite the pickle. You see, the people you're dealing with here are more dangerous than you think. My henchmen have Mr. Waifu in their custody right now." Ivan smiled sweetly. "I could give him back to you, along with some information about the group I'm associated in... For a small price, of course."

Emil fidgeted with the pen in his hand, twisting it this way and that. "...What...What are your conditions...?"

I can't believe I'm doing this.

This could get me in serious trouble.

What the hell am I thinking? What if this guy is plotting against me or something and makes me do something that costs me my job?!

What if he wants to kill me?!

The Russian seemed to spot Emil's discomfort, and he laughed, a low 'kol, kol, kol.' "Don't worry, it's not anything dangerous, really. I want you to break me out of prison, then you can have the information, and I'll let your brother-in-law go. That's fair, da?"

"...No. Definitely not. Why would I want to do a stupid thing like that?"

"Because your relative's life is at risk here, and by two o'clock sharp tomorrow morning, he'll be full of bullet holes. That's not what you want, is it?"

"..."

"Good, Officer. Here's what you're going to do."

Emil listened vaguely, a sick boiling feeling scratching at his stomach lining and forcing its way up his throat. Each syllable the Russian pronounced sent a shivering tremble up his spine, buzzing his brain.

"-And make sure you don't tell anyone else about this, or else I might just have to kill Mr. Waifu."

-linebreakohsnapohsnapintensnessEmilbreaksIvanouttaprisonwhoopssorrynotsorry-

-Later that evening-

It was to get Tino back alive.

It was to get his brother-in-law, his family, back alive.

...Right?

Emil forced his thoughts on the same pattern, forcing them on the path that he wanted them to be. There was no way in any pit of hell that he was going to admit to himself that he was only doing this for selfish reasons.

Of course, it wasn't a selfish thought at all! He just wanted to find out who his kidnappers were, what business they had with his family, and why they were targeting him so he could throw their sorry asses to jail.

...So that's how Emil found himself sneaking into the Hetalia Ville Police Department, attempting to break out one of the most cunning assassins known in the city. The police guards on their nightshift would be on his trail any minute, so he had to get into the prison cells fast before any of them could spot him.

And, of course there had to be difficulties.

Of course.

-linebreakswtichingthirdpersonPOVswhyyouberussiantobreaksomeoneoutofprisonEmmy-

-Several hours earlier-

"Hej! Asian kid with the eyebrows!" An obnoxiously loud Danish-accented voice yelled out.

Leon could take names like "Asian kid." It was perfectly fine; Leon accepted his Asian-ness. But putting something about his English-food-induced eyebrows into the mix is not okay.

"...What do you want?" Leon forced the most ugly name-calling thoughts in his head down. That wouldn't be appropriate. Not at all.

Because Leon is a good Asian kid. He grew up with a loud Chinese brother who grew out his hair like a girl's. And said brother taught him discipline.

"I was wondering if you could watch over the ruffians for me! Norgie and I are taking the rest of the day off to plan our wedding!"

"...A little soon, don't you think?"

"Not at all! We want to get this done as soon as possible!" Mathias lowered his voice significantly. "To be honest, I didn't think Norge was in a hurry to get this done. If anything, he'd be one to take his time and tie the ol' knot in a year or two!"

Leon shrugged. "Hum, I don't know. I've never been engaged."

"So can you please work the night shift? Please?"

"I thought I was going to work the night shift in the cafe."

Mathias guffawed. "Aw, come on! The night shift is just cleaning and closing up! You can do that tomorrow morning before the cafe opens! For now, you can take my night shift and watch over the prisoners! 'Kay?"

"Tch, whatever. I, like, don't really care that much. What do I do? Walk around the prison cells and laugh at them or something?"

The Dane shook his head. "Nah, you just gotta patrol the area. Just walk around a bit, stay in one spot for a while, and make sure no one tries to escape!"

"Gee, that makes me wanna do this even more." He rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Mathias smiled, white teeth sparkling like some kind of stereotypical anime smile. "Yeah! Thanks a bunch, my Asian brother-in-law!"

And that's when Leon's jaw dropped all the way down to the floor. "WHAT THE HELL?"

The Danish idiot waved behind him as he walked away. "We all know how close you and my little bro-in-law are! Especially how immediately you both became 'friends!' See ya later!"

-Present Time-

And that's how Leon found himself in this situation.

Lounging against the wall, updating his Hetabook status to "Partying with the bad boys," and giving Mr. I'm Russian, Da? the Asian stinkeye.

"I see you're very close with that bowtie child-boy, am I right?"

Leon snapped his cell phone shut. "You mean, Emil? Sure, but I wouldn't call him 'child-boy.' I'd say he's more a cute girly boy."

"Kol, kol, kol. That's a very accurate description. But it can't be just his physical features that remind you of girls, da?"

"...What do you mean?"

"He's gullible, thinks he's so strong. It's really quite feminine, is it not?"

The Asian half laughed. "I'm going to have to, like, disagree with you. Emil is, like, uber manly. He's, like, the manliest girly guy I know." Leon had to lie; it was to boost Icy's reputation.

"Kol, kol, kol." And that was all the Russian said.

Or laughed.

Whatever.

Leon decided to walk around the prison a bit, half smiling at one prisoner who tried to aim his urine at his finely polished shoes.

"Silly prison jerk." Said prisoner threw a nasty glare his way.

Leon decided to commemorate this moment by telling his dear Icelandic friend about his nearly urine-covered shoe. How he got his number would remain a secret.

Hint Number One: Cantonese Magic

Leon (Hong's a Douche): Dude! You won't believe what just happened!

Emil (Fridges be Bae): Kinda busy right now. Leave me alone.

Leon (Hong's a Douche): This prison guy almost peed on my shoe! LOL ( ´▽)

Emil (Fridges be Bae): I don't care that's not funny. Leave me alone you idiot.

Leon (Hong's a Douche): Aw y u throwing a tantrum Ice?

Emil (Fridges be Bae): Shut up I'm not a kid. I'm really busy doing something so stop texting me.

Leon (Hong's a Douche): What r u doing?

Emil (Fridges be Bae): None of your business. Now leave me alone.

Leon (Hong's a Douche): U kno wat? Ima gonna call u right now.

Emil (Fridges be Bae): WHAT THE FUCK NO LEON NO STOP IT

Leon (Hong's a Douche): Lol nope. Dialing rite now. (´) (A/N: Lol look it's the APH Korea ahoge face-Praise dis)

And before he rounded the corner, Leon heard the loud ringtone he had installed onto Emil's phone.

What. The. Hell.

-switchingthepovsyagottalovedapovswahaha-

Emil had sneaked from dozens of police officers, dodged a plethora of motion-activated alarms, and even went as far as to botching all of the cameras...

...Just so he could get caught by his co-worker that he may or may not have a slight infatuation towards?

Slight is an understatement.

Emil froze as his ringtone went off, alerting most of the prisoners and a very damnable Asian. A flick of the flashlight; a pair of surprised topaz eyes; and a heavy electrifying shock to the gut.

"Holy...shit...you just...tazed...me...unghhhh..."

"WHAT THE FUCK I'M SORRY HOLY FLIPPING SHIT I'M SORRY."

As the flashlight revealed a writhing Icelander, Leon jumped back slightly.

"Emil?"

And that was the second official time Leon used his actual name.

"What are you doing here? Ice, hey, you okay?"

"Nngh...I'm fine, no thanks to you. I just came...I just came here to, uh..."

"Spit on some of our foreheads?"

"Pick up your naughty girlfriend charged for first degree murder?"

"Pick up your naughty boyfriend charged with first degree murder?"

"Kick around a couple douches?"

"Free food?"

And that's why criminals are the best conversationalists.

"No, no, no! I just-" Emil took a peek at the time on his phone.

1:45 am

"Dammit! Leon, let me through! I need to...I need to talk with Ivan for a minute."

"Do you really think I'm, like, that stupid? You do know that I'm the prison guard for the night, right? And as prison guard, I'm supposed to enforce the rules. And the rules are-"

"Talking to criminals after hours are strictly prohibited, I know. But I really need to talk to him so let me through!"

"No. I can't, it's against the rules, Ice. Plus, talking to bad boys is not healthy for a goody goody boy as innocent as yourself."

"Dammit Leon! So help me, I will-"

"I said no, Ice." The Asian snapped at Emil a little harsher this time, which made the Icelandic flinch.

"Please, Leon. I really, really, need to talk to Ivan. I can't explain right now, but I promise I will when I get the chance. Please, Leon. Please, Li Xiao."

Doki.

Damn, how was his European co-worker/friend (Emil has very mixed emotions about this word) able to do this to him? His heart jumped out of his chest, struggling against his internal bonds, trying to break free and land in Emil's now-clenched hands. Leon didn't want his Icelandic friend to talk to some ruffian who could have an ulterior motive by talking with him. The Asian pinched the bridge of his nose; honestly, he wasn't very fond of how overprotective he was being towards Emil. It was as if, as if he was in love with him.

Love.

The word burned on the tip of his tongue like burnt scones.

Emil gave Leon a look of what seemed like a mix between utter disappointment and confusion. What the hell...? Said Icelander took the Asian's silence as an opportunity to shove him and unlock Ivan's cell.

"Get out of my way. This is for the benefit of the both of us." Emil swiped the cell keys from a nearby hook, quickly unlocking the cell and letting Ivan out.

"Ah, Mr. Consultant. I did not know you would find me here."

"Shut up. You're the one who came up with this. Let's get this over with so my cousin can have his wife back."

"You seem very perplexed. Will it affect the escape? I hope it won't, da?"

Emil groaned. "It's nothing...Let's just get out of here."

Ivan smiled. "Oh, no. I am getting out of here. You will play as the distraction. Unless...you want Mr. Waifu to act as a testing dummy for my new gun, da?"

Emil glared; this wasn't part of the plan! And frankly, Emil didn't want to confront the snarky Asian that was probably going to test out his kung fu on. "Whatever. You better let Tino go, you freak. I'm serious."

The Russian nodded, smiling slightly. "A deal is a deal. I will have him out by tonight. Meet me at the old alleyway next to your Danish friend's cafe."

"...Okay."

Emil quietly unlocked the door, only to have run into a large brick wall.

"What the fu-?!"

Hold up. It's just Leon.

"Leon, this is an important matter, so, uh, don't butt in. Ivan is being released, and if you tell anyone, I'm afraid I'm going to have to-"

"...Why didn't you tell me?" Leon's eyes held something of disappointment and worry. His hand gripped Emil's shoulders almost roughly, and his lip jutted out slightly in a small frown. "This...is like, really dangerous. He's one of the most wanted criminals in town, you know." The apathetic tone of his voice had a shaky edge to it, like that of a dull knife.

"Why were you listening in? Eavesdropping is really rude. It's none of your business, so why should you care?" Emil looked away, sneaking out the door.

Something in Leon's demeanor cracked, and suddenly Emil found himself being shoved against a wall, with Leon's arms on either side of him.

"Don't you care?! Like, at all?! Listen, I don't know what's going on, Ice! He's a fucking criminal! Why are you doing this...?" When he received no reply, he forced his head down to block any emotion from being seen. "...Why...?! That guy's a fucking assassin! What if something happens to you? What if you're just being taken advantage of?"

Leon didn't know what was happening.

He didn't know why he was losing control.

He's my best friend! Of course I'm worried about him!

Are you sure this is just about your best friend? His subconscious was really pissing him off.

Or maybe you want him to be something more...?

Shut up! He's my best friend, I'm keeping it strictly at that.

Oh, are you now? Let's, like, see how that works out for you.

Leon suddenly found himself yelling at the latter, tears forming upon his eyelids like morning dew. "-Can't you understand that doing this alone will only make things worse?! You could've talked to your brother or something, I'm sure he'd help!"

Emil's face wrinkled up in frustration. "I can't! You don't understand! If I tell anyone, I'll-" He broke off his sentence, looking away. "And I'm not as weak as you think. I can handle myself."

Leon perked his head up, amber eyes flashing dangerously. "Bullshit, Emil. You could be the damn strongest person in the world, but that Russian will take you over in a blink of an eye."

Emil slapped the Asian hard across the face. "I knew you wouldn't understand, Leon. I don't even know you that well, why would you even care in the first place?"

Doki. Doki.

And all the words came dribbling from his lips like a river.

"...You're wrong, Emil. You're wrong. You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wro-"

A/N: You were expecting a confession, weren't you? WAHAHAHAHA

"OKAY I GET IT JUST TELL ME WHY, YOU STUPID MORON!"

"I'm not telling anything until you tell me what kind of deal you made with Russian Satan."

"Dammit! I don't need to tell you anything!"

"You do."

"Excuse me?!"

"...You do have to tell me."

"Why? You're not my mother, or my brother, or Captain Hédevéry, are you?"

"Maybe not, but I am your co-worker and closest thing you've got to a friend, aren't I?"

"Hmph. I don't know." A creeping red pigment sneaked across Emil's cheekbones.

Damn...He's got a point. Friends tell each other everything, right?

No, not everything. Some things are more private than others.

Ah, you're right. He can't butt into my business, even if he is a friend. My only friend.

Or something more...?

"You don't have the right to ask all these questions."

"Actually, I kinda do. I'm a consultant, remember?" Leon's expression softened. "And I also ask because I, like, care. A lot. About. You." The last words were uttered almost mechanically, as if he was forcing them out.

Emil felt his heart race for a moment before coming up with a completely (un)logical reasoning for Leon's "kind-of" confession. Of course he would care about me. We're friends. "Leon..." Why are we arguing again? Why is my heart beating so fast? Why am I questioning my friendship with you?

"Emil...Tell me what's going on..."

The Icelandic gazed at Leon's golden eyes, confused as to why his face seemed to grow closer.

And closer.

"...I...Well...He has my-" He let his eyes flutter shut, unable to keep Leon's gaze any longer.

Which turned out to be a huge mistake.

Click.

"Say anything else, and Tino won't be the only person terminated, da?"

Damn it. I totally forgot that HE was still here.

Ivan had a handgun pointed against the side of Leon's head, his fist clenched tightly around the sleek mess of dark brown locks. Leon winced slightly as he was pulled back, the roots of his hair tingling with every yank.

"Let him go, Ivan. This wasn't part of the plan."

"Neither was cuddling with your boyfriend, but sometimes disturbances occur. We just have to fix them."

"Not like this. Let him go." Emil tried to keep himself calm, but he could feel his hands trembling.

I'm reliving a memory, right now. Not the same person, but it's happening again.

"Mm, no can do, Mr. Consultant. You were about to tell him our deal, and you remember the conditions, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"Tell me what happened, Ice." Leon appeared to be perfectly calm, his expression apathetic.

"N-no..." Dammit, he was stuttering. "I...I can't...and how did he get that gun...?"

"It'll be fine, just tell me. Tell me what the deal was between you and Ivan. Oh, and I'm assuming he, like, stole it from the rifle holder on my belt." Crazy how he could be so nonchalant during a moment like this. Just a couple minutes ago he had been close to tears.

"Your friend's life is on the line, Mr. Consultant. Do you really want to get rid of him so badly?" A small smile graced the older man's lips.

"Tell me."

What do I do?

"My finger's slipping~"

I don't want him to die!

"Go on, Ice."

If I tell him, his head will be chock full of bullet holes!

"Three..."

I don't want him to die...!

"Emil."

He's...

"...Two..."

...important...

"Emil!"

To me...!

"...One..."

I can't let him die!

"EMIL!"

"STOP! STOP, DON'T DO THIS!" Emil wrapped his arms around Leon's neck, one hand resting on the side of the latter's head, specifically, the one that the gun had been pressed up against.

"It's alright, Emil." Leon mumbled into the fabric of the Icelander's brown jacket.

Emil pulled away slightly, the most shocked and horrified facial expression making its way onto his face. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?! THE GUY'S ABOUT TO KILL YOU AND YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE?!"

"I think you're getting exaggerating a bit, Emil."

"No, you're taking this way too lightly!"

"Dude, it's fine. There's nothing to be worried about."

And once again, they ignored the gunman that was currently holding a rifle to Leon's head.

"Excuse me?! I should be worried! Dammit, there's a gun pointed to your head!"

"Calm down, Ice."

"I'm perfectly calm! I..." He backed away a step, bringing out a gun of his own. "I'm not going to let it happen again."

"What the hell are you talking about?! Put the gun down!"

"N-no. I'm not going to lose another person that I care about." Emil didn't know what he was saying anymore, he could feel his brain going slack, the pool of tears leaving his eyelids in fat drops.

Ivan's hold on his gun wavered a bit. "You wouldn't..."

Emil pressed the trigger, sending the tiny bullet into the wall to the left of Ivan's face. "Next shot will be aimed at your face." He snarled, eyes full of fear, anger, and whatever else he was feeling.

"Put the gun down, Emil." A crisp voice broke through his thoughts, and he let his eyes wander to the direction of the voice. He shook his head at Leon, though his grip on the gun wavered.

"Emil, listen to me. Put the gun down. You're going to kill us both. So put the gun down."

"N...no...I have to protect you..."

"You're not a knight in shining armor, Emil." You're the princess. "Please, Ice. Put it down, don't let anyone get hurt. Do it for...uh, for me." Well, that didn't sound awkward. At all.

"Hngh..." Emil half sobbed, letting his hands fall to his sides as he fell to his knees. The gun dropped to the floor with a soft thud. "I don't even know-hic-what I'm-hic-saying..."

Ivan didn't yank Leon back as the Asian grabbed Emil's hand and pulled him close. Emil hiccuped quietly, letting his arms loop around Leon's neck loosely.

Leon stroked the latter's back slowly, his hands resting at Emil's hips. He didn't care that the uniform Mathias had given him was getting peppered with wet spots from Emil's tears. "Shh, it's alright now, Ice."

"I don't think so. I'll kill both of you before I get away." Ivan smiled, his gun pointed at Leon's back.

"NO!" Emil clawed for the gun, attempts in vain as Leon held him down.

"Calm down."

As Ivan pressed the trigger, Emil closed his eyes tightly. "Leon, I want you to know I love you, please don-"

Click.

Click click.

CLICK CLICK CLICK.

CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK-

"Why isn't this thing working?" Ivan seemed slightly frustrated, which probably meant he was really, really pissed off.

"It's probably because that gun isn't loaded." Leon continued holding onto Emil, smiling as Ivan kept dropped the gun on the floor.

"That's unfortunate. I'll just have to leave without killing anybody today. Hm, До свидания. (Goodbye) Don't expect Väinämöinen to be breathing before nightfall today."

Leon didn't even bother going after him. Emil had started trembling like a wilted leaf in the wind, hanging onto the Asian's sleeve for dear life. The guy had been through a lot today; it would be understandable for him to go into shock not long after this.

"Emil, you alright?"

"P-please call m-my s-st-storebror..." The Icelander didn't care that he had just called his brother by his old nickname. He could stop shaking, his lips and limbs felt like lead.

"You got it, Ice." Leon dialed Mathias' number quickly into his phone, the dial tone ringing no more than twice.

"Hej! Officer Køhler speaking."

"It's Li Xiao."

"Oh, hey buddy! How's work going? Any of the bad boys ask for your lunch money?"

"I need to speak to Lukas. This is urgent."

"Woah there, man! Whaddya mean you have to speak to Lukas? I can tell him whatever you want to say to him."

"This is for Emil. He wants to talk to his brother. At least that's what I think he wants to do. I don't understand Norwegian."

"O-oh. Hold on for a moment." The rough noise of whispering and movement could be heard through all the light static. "Hello? Li Xiao? Where's my lillebror?" Lukas sounded as if he had just woken up, which was understandable, given that it was three in the morning.

"He's right next to me. Let me put him on the phone." Leon gently pried open Emil's fingers, closing them around his phone and placing it up to the boy's ear.

"...S-storebror..."

"Emil? Is everything alright?"

Emil made a sound of disapproval. "N-nei."

"Do you want to tell me what happened? Where are you?"

The Icelander sucked in a breath, his hand on the phone wavering. "N...nei..."

Leon took the phone from Emil, covering his hand on the speaker. "Tell me what you want me to say, and I'll tell him, Emmy."

"Tell him...to get Tino...Tell him to br-bring back-up."

Leon nodded. "Okay." He uncovered the phone speaker. "It's Li Xiao again. Emil told me to tell you to get Tino. Bring back-up."

"What the hell? Where the hell is Tino? Why the hell was he missing in the first place? Why doesn't Berwald know about this?"

"Not everything has to do with hell, Mr. Bondevik. And I don't know why Berwald doesn't know about it." Emil mumbled something just loud enough for Leon to hear. "Tino is in the alleyway next to the cafe Mathias works at."

"Alright. Keep my brother safe, moron. We'll be getting Tino now."

"Okay. Goodbye." Leon hung up the call, pocketing his phone away. "Emmy, you doing alright there?"

"...Leon, mér finnst illa...(I feel unwell)" Emil mumbled, his syllables slurring together. The whole room span around him, his body buzzed noisily, almost as loud as the ringing in his ears. Emil felt his eyes roll to the back of his head as his body went slack and the world closed in on him like shadowy darkness.

Leon caught Emil's head before it could slam against the cracked concrete floor, his hand running his fingers along his silver strands tenderly. "You work too hard. Give yourself a good rest. I know this must've been, like, a scary thing to go through."

Leon left the building premises, tucking his friend's (it would be safe to assume that they were friends now, right?) body under the seat belt in the passenger seat of his red Porsche. It would be safe to visit the hospital to check if he had any damage whatsoever, but having a day off would be most beneficial.

"Just take it easy, Ice."

-Time Passes-

When Leon had made it to Emil's house (don't ask how he found out. Hint one: Cantonese Magic), he unfastened the Icelander's seatbelt and hoisted him up onto his shoulders.

"Dude, you're really light, you know that?"

Leon twisted the knob to the front door. Locked. "Dammit; this is really convenient. I'll have to go through the window now. Hopefully one of them is open or I'll have to drop Ice off outside."

He rounded the corner of the house, slinking around until he found a window that was miraculously open. To make matters even better, it was right above a small platform that would make it easy to jump from. Unfortunately, it was on the second floor of the house. Leon glowered at the open window frustratingly. He did this before to another house, he can do this again. The only problem was that there was a living, breathing person on his shoulders.

Not that Leon had carried the dead on his shoulders onto a house before.

He untied his belt to his dress pants, tying it around Emil's waist, around his own arms, and around Emil's legs. He repeated this until he had made Emil a somewhat safe seat belt. He would still have to hold him, but at least there was some sort of protection. Leon held one of his arms to the small of Emil's back, the other grabbing the edge of the roof. he just managed to get the upper half of his body up when he noticed Emil slipping from his hold. He leaned himself forward, and the unconscious Icelander followed his movements, slipping onto the roof. Leon followed suit, and hoisted Emil back up onto his shoulders. The room the open window was located in seemed like a fairly small area, a simple bed, simple work desk, something one would see in a simple house. What got Leon's attention was the large bird cage holding some kind of bird that kind of resembled Leon of a panda, except with a bow tie and a yellow beak.

"Puffin...?" Leon was pretty sure that the bird inside that cage was a puffin. But the real question was, how did Emil get his hands on one of them?

He shook his head; this wasn't the time to be peeking around Emil's room! He untied the makeshift seat belt around Emil and himself before laying the latter down on his bed. Lying there, Emil resembled a child, wisps of silver hair spread out on the pillows, his lips parted in a slight "O". It was definitely a sight to drink in, and Leon made sure that the memory would burn into his mind permanently.

"Rest up, Ice." Leon swept Emil's hair back from his forehead and let his lips fall upon the skin there before sneaking out the window.

Leon would really need a rest after this. But he had to deal with something first.

-Time Passes-

Leon pulled open the front door, quietly shutting it before taking off his shoes and letting out a yawn. Seeing Emil so vulnerable, his brother Lukas worried about him got him thinking.

"Li Xiao? Why are you home so late?" Yao walked in holding a cup of Oolong tea.

"I had the night shift today. Filling in for one of the officers."

"Oh, well, you should get some sleep."

"I will. First I have to speak with Kiku about something."

"Kiku? He's in his room. He said he was going to prepare for bed. Tomorrow is his last day here, can't it wait until then?"

"No. I'm going to make some tea first." Leon tiredly stepped into the kitchen, pouring in a packet of chrysanthemum tea. It was too late in the night to make the real stuff. The water was already hot, so he poured it into two cups. He figured that Kiku would want a cup too.

Once he finished, he padded his way into the guest room, or the one that formerly used to be Kiku's while he was still living there. "Kiku? May I come in?"

His Japanese half-brother looked up from the futon he was preparing. "Li-kun? Yes, come in. It's quite a pleasure to see you. I haven't seen you around much. Sit." He pat his hand on the futon before sitting himself down to the spot next to it. "May I ask what is on your mind?"

"I wanted to apologize for my distant behavior during your visit." This is when Leon explained everything about his, as Emil diagnosed it, 'jealousy,' and that is why I've come to seek your forgiveness."

Kiku took a long sip of tea thoughtfully before speaking. "I see. In all honesty, Li-kun, I expected this. Yao and I are closer in age and in thinking, so it would seem perfectly logical for you to feel like this. It should not be you to apologize for your feelings, but me, to apologize for noticing yet not saying anything. I am truly sorry."

Leon stared down at his cup of tea, the sweet golden liquid churning in the tea cup gently. "No, Kiku. It's my fault. I just wanted to be with teacher more, and because of that, the feelings I felt were wrong. I shouldn't just become distant like that because you and gège are closer. It was my error in thinking, so I should be the one apologizing."

Kiku choked back a sound of shock, stroking Leon's hair with a smile. "It...it is alright. You're forgiven, Li-kun. I hope from this day forward, we can all become closer as a family."

Leon nodded, picking up the now empty tea cups and heading out. "Yeah. Goodnight, Kiku." He closed the door behind him and discarded the cups in the sink.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest, and a new, light feeling replaced it. He was content.

Yeah, he really deserved a day off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahaaaaa! Soooooo love you all and hope you liked Emil's confession! See you next update. :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO AGAIN! So very sorry for the late update, but here it finally is!

Emil felt the warm sunlight of the morning touch his eyes, and his eyes shot open, dazed and confused as to where he was and how he had gotten there. His body felt heavy, his limbs refusing to move from the bed.

The last thing I remember was...

"N-no...I'm not going to lose another person that I care about."

"N...no...I have to protect you."

Click.

Click click.

CLICK CLICK CLICK.

CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK-

Emil sighed; he was really out of it yesterday, wasn't he? He curled his body up into a fetal position, wrinkling the bedsheets further. There was something that he didn't remember, something that was on the tip of his tongue-

"Leon, I want you to know I love you..."

Emil shot up from the bed, clutching the sides of his face in a panic. Had he really said that?!

"Dammit, I'm going to be in so much trouble!"

His head must be feeling light; yes, that was definitely it.

Or maybe he had a fever.

Or maybe-

"I'm in love with Leon."

Emil sunk back down on the bed, clutching the comforter of his bed tightly. The Asian's name felt foreign on his tongue now, it sent flutters down his stomach and numbed his brain.

"I'm in love with...Leon."

-linebreakkoreallycuteda-zekoreaismybae-

"I'm going out."

Lukas looked up from his newspaper and coffee. "Excuse me?"

"I. Am. Going. Out."

"Hmm..." Emil realized what Lukas was trying to imply. "I still can't hear you, lillebror."

The Icelander groaned. "Damn you. I'm going out, storebror."

It seemed like Lukas was going to keep nagging Emil to call him by his familial title, and already the Icelander was regretting ever saying that last night, delusional or not.

Speaking of which, a certain lavender eyed waitress popped into his head. "Did you find Tino?"

"Ja. We found him in the alleyway outside of Mathias' cafe, like you said."

"Is he safe?"

Lukas nodded. "Mm. His husband was waiting in the station by the time we took him. Awful worried, Berwald was. Haven't seen him in ages."

Emil almost forgot how Berwald was related to them. Well, to Mathias. "Hm. He's coming to your wedding, right?"

Lukas almost immediately changed the subject. "Where are you going?"

Emil narrowed his eyes at the sudden conversation change, but didn't question it. "Just around town. I'll be back by nightfall."

"Oh? Did you say something?"

"God, Luke!" He stalked towards the door angrily. "I don't care. I'm not saying it. Good day!"

Lukas continued sipping his coffee. "Mathias..."

And in a blink of an eye, the door Emil was about to open was covered in Danish man.

And frankly, Emil didn't give a shit about it.

"Hej, Emil!"

The Icelander gave the Dane one of his rare (but not completely as rare as his smiles) death looks before swinging open the door and slamming it shut, earning a loud yelp of pain from Mathias and a small "hm" from Lukas.

"Damn all of them! All of them!"

Clearly, Emil's day off from work wasn't going to be very relaxing.

-linebreakiceluvshongsfridgewinkyface-

Leon woke up sneezing.

"You've got to be kidding. I just finished getting the American douche's Lo Mein out of my system!" He groaned and pushed the covers off of him, falling off the bed in the process.

"Li Xiao...? Is everything okay, aru?"

"I don't know, teach! Stop bothering me."

"Aiyah! I'm going to get the temperature measuring thing, stay right there."

Leon rolled his eyes and flipped himself over. "At least I have a day off."

-A Little While Later-

"There is nothing wrong with you, Li Xiao! So get up on your feet and do something productive!"

Leon groaned. "Unghhhh...nope, I'd rather not." His stomach was twisting and turning, as if the Lo Mein was morphing inside of him.

Yao pinched the bridge of his nose irritably. "For the last time, Li Xiao...THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU! THE THERMOMETER SAYS THAT YOU ARE NORMAL!" Yao pulled on his arm with ad much force as he could muster. "GO OUTSIDE OR SOMETHING! FLIRT WITH LADIES, USE YOUR ASIAN CHARM! CHASE YONG SOO AROUND, GO WORK AT THE CAFE, DO SOMETHING, ARU!"

Leon didn't budge an inch as Yao continued to pull on him. "Whatever, teach. Just leave me alone. Go away and let Yong Soo grope you some more."

When Yao finally had enough of whatever Leon was feeling, he snapped. "WANG LI XIAO PULL YOUR LAZY ASS TOGETHER AND GO OUTSIDE, ARU! I'M TIRED OF YOU PLAYING ON YOUR STUPID COMPUTER INDOORS AND YOU NEED TO GET MORE SUN. IF YOU DO NOT WILLINGLY PULL OPEN THE WINDOW AND GET OUT YOURSELF I WILL KICK YOU OUT OF THERE MYSELF!"

"Can I get my own apartment?" Leon smiled brightly, already knowing his older brother's answer.

"HELL NO!"

Leon slinked out the window, closing it firmly. He watched Yao sigh and leave foggy marks on the clear glass. His gēge (older brother) would never let him move out, he was much too clingy on the young man.

"What to do..." He strolled into town, deciding to take a shopping day.

-linebreakthisone'sforyoukawaiijilli-

Emil sat down on a comfortable chair, in a comfortable cafe (or should he say outside), away from not-so-comfortable people. The umbrella that hovered over his table waved with the lazy breeze that danced with his hair and kissed his cheeks happily. He was enjoying his warm cup of hot chocolate, which was made by a sprightly cafe clerk and her hot chocolate making machines. Nothing could be more relaxing, and nothing could be better than a day off from work.

That is, until Emil caught a glimpse of a certain Asian man roaming the streets in all his Asian clothed glory.

"Dammit. I can't get one moment of peace without running into an idiot."

A humorless laugh somewhere in the table behind him seconded his statement. "Tell me about it, Fish Breath. The stupid tomato mofo won't leave me alone."

And how could Emil forget this pissy Italian cop that had nearly forced all the mackerel out of him during a certain driving rampage.

"Fancy seeing you here, Officer Vargas." Emil tried to keep his tone light.

"Ugh, you sound like the English douche that tried to sell me some of his stuff in his restaurant the other day when I got lost-I mean, the other day I was patrolling that place with all the Asians."

Emil stopped himself from choking on the hot liquid scalding his trachea. He could imagine Leon saying something snarky in reply to Lovino's words, already seeing the lazy smirk on his co-worker's face.

English douche? Tell me about it, that old man's been in my face now for years. Just look at these. And he'd just poke fun at his eyebrows.

God, he if he didn't stop thinking about him soon, he was almost one hundred percent sure that he was going to bleed out through every opening in his body.

"T-tell me...uh, about that tomato guy you keep talking about."

"Woah, woah! Hold the fuck up! I'm not in love with him or anything!" He was blushing like a...tomato?

Emil nervously wrung his hands together. "Of course not! Well, it was nice running into you, I guess. If you would excuse me, I have to go somewhere. See you, Officer." Emil ran off in a hurry, trying to find a place to hide in to avoid running into Leon.

-linebreakhideandseekhideandseek-

When Leon went out in the main Hetaliaville market hub, the first shop he looked for was an abandoned restaurant, one of which Yao had told him he worked at to earn money to attend an educator's college. He crouched himself down on one of the cracked steps. The restaurant was an old thing, rust windows, peeling plaster, and the ceiling was close to collapsing. The younger version of Leon would run up to the still-furnished restaurant, smiling up at the equally content glances and stares that he received as he made his way to the kitchen. There, he would fist bump and high five the workers, taking the scraps and samples that they handed him as if he were some cute pet. The new cooks in the business would scoff and sneer at him, asking him why he was in the kitchen instead of running around with toy soldiers and paper planes. Little Leon would only spare them an amused sparkle in his eyes. Little did they know, he was Yao's chef in the kitchen when his gēge was away, and a damn good one at that. Those newbies had no idea that he was the one that yelled orders around and got the kitchen in a productive buzz. They had no idea that he was the one that fired the slack offs and no-goods, even if it was just Leon tattling on them to Yao.

And that's what sparked Leon to pursue a part time life in cooking.

The Asian sighed and ran his fingers against the peeling outer wall before moving on towards the main hub in the market; those had been the easy days, the time-blurred memories when he was actually pretty tight with his older brother, when they had just moved into town. Honestly, he would give anything to go back in time and live each day again. Well, everything except Emil. Meeting Emil had been another experience in his life that he would always reminisce about. He had clearly memorized each and every curve and shape on that boy's face, yet the Icelandic's emotions never ceased to surprise him. Aesthetically, Emil was an irresistible piece of puffin-loving, feminine man-boy. Leon couldn't lie about that. Emil even knew how to look like a boss while holding a gun between his dainty fingers. Emil was fun to mess with, and with constant teasing, Leon could detect every speck of emotion visible in his eyes. Leon slowed his steps as he rounded the corner to the library.

"And I also ask because I, like, care. A lot. About. You."

Leon face palmed himself, gritting his teeth lightly. Had he actually said that? God, if Emil remembered him saying this, his whole friendship with him would take a turn for the most awkward. Leon sighed and took a seat in one of the children's areas of the library, relaxing against a purple bean bag. It was a nice shade of purple, kind of like that pretty mesmerizing lavender-violet in Emil's eyes...

Leon slapped his hand against his forehead several more times. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" He hissed quietly.

He decided to choose a book to read. It'd be nice to get a manga from the adolescent collections of the library and lounge about there, but alas, laziness took over, and Leon found himself reading some kind of picture book about little boy imagining himself around all parts of the world. It was the last sections of the book that got him stifling back his laughter.

"Oh, and to think if I was in Hong Kong! The bustling crowds and the roaring Long Falls in Tai Mo Shan! Such a beautiful place! Such wonders!"

Leon sneered. "Your mind is playing tricks on you, kid. Hong Kong has dirty streets and buildings that are so squished together you can barely breathe." But it was his home country, and Leon had to admit, he did fall in love with the place for a while.

"I think if I were in Iceland, I would be at peace! The glittering geysers, and the roaring volcanoes! And the whole lot of puffins will play with me!"

Leon tried not to let his laughter bubble out. God, this was rich! If Emil had read this book, what would he have said? "This book is so stupid." Or maybe something like, "The puffins don't play with you. They're so aggressive. Trust me from personal experience." Leon's eyes widened when he realized who he was thinking of, and he slapped his hand over his head once more. He closed the book and placed it on the gray rack beside him. Leon sighed and picked up another book.

Aw, cute. This one has a little girl with a bow tie on her head. It kind of looks like the bow Emil always wears...NO STOP IT!

Leon bashed his head with his hand again, this time earning some troubled glances from mothers and young children. He chose to read another book.

All About Puffins; Learn About the Most Unique Creatures of Flight! Hey, Emil has a pet puffin...I wonder how he managed to get his hands on one of those...

"Dammit!" Leon hissed under his breath, and once again earning the attention of several annoyed mothers.

"Mommy, who's that guy over there? What does dam-"

"Don't pay attention to him, Luxxy. That's a very bad word, and you shouldn't be saying things like that."

"But Daan gets to say it all the time!"

"Shhh, Luxxy. Let's get back to reading, okay?"

-linebreakLuxxyisLuxembourgthislilbbyboy-

Emil had run into a vibe-high dog, a frisky Korean, and a prostitute all in one day. All he wanted to do was to get away from anybody that annoyed him, and that included a very irritating older brother.

After Emil had exchanged his farewells (one-sided farewells) with Lovino, he decided to visit an old oriental antique shop. To his surprise, he found Kiku looking around the small space, caressing large vases and other sorts of fine china and carved woods.

"Welcome to the Seventh Lotus! Please look around and ask if you have any questions on our abundant sets of wares!" A polite-looking man chirped from the cashier table.

Emil smiled and nodded timidly; this place seemed awfully quiet, to the point of almost intimidating silence. But for the meantime, it was comforting. The Icelandic brushed his fingers against a porcelain sculpture in the shape of an origami crane. The shining sakura pattern littered against the hard surface, it was way too pretty not to admire. Of course, if he bought something like this, he was sure a certain Dane would break it to pieces the next day.

"Ah, Emil-kun, it seems like you are interested in the paper crane sculpture." Kiku smiled at him, his left arm cradling a basket, the other stroking the top of the crane's head.

Emil returned the smile sheepishly. "Hm, not really. If I brought this home I'm sure my family would crush it to pieces in minutes without even trying."

The Japanese man laughed quietly. "I see. Well, if you see anything you like, please tell my half cousin over there manning the cashier. He is the manager, as well as a talented gambler. He is from Macau, if you should wonder where he comes from."

Emil turned his head to glance at the cashier, who in turn, waved and smiled politely. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

Emil moved to the next corner of the sun-lit room, eyeing the small mug next to him. A huge map was painted on the thick ceramic, including all the countries except for, well, Iceland. Emil sighed; of course they wouldn't include Iceland.

"Ah! Pochi-chan, please do not jump out!" Emil's lavender orbs widened at the scene before him, the basket in Kiku's arms wriggling and writhing as if it had a life of its own. Suddenly, a small brown...fluff thing jumped out, barking and prancing around the shop, knocking several antiques over.

The cashier/manager kept smiling, but Emil could tell he was trying not to scream out any profanities. "Kiku, do you need my help?"

"N-no, I am quite alright, thank you. My bones can't take much more of this..."

Pochi stopped running, his beady (but cute) eyes staring into Emil's violet ones. The small dog wagged his tail playfully, and started pawing against the boy's pant leg. Emil tried to shake it away, only to receive a small whimper.

Emil was suddenly glad that he had a pet puffin.

He nervously tiptoed around the small fur ball, only to have it follow him in an excited hype. "Um...Kiku, if you could...?"

But Kiku had disappeared, along with the manager manning the cashier. Emil sighed, he was all alone with this dog that wasn't even his! Pochi jumped around the shop, knocking a fragile tea set over.

And this was where Emil would try to leave, but couldn't because there was a crazy furry dog coming after him.

Emil let out a strangled gasp as he was sprinting. There had to be somewhere safe he could go... He ran to some kind of neon-lit building (though it was daylight outside) and slammed the door behind him, watching Pochi bark excitedly before hopping his way back to his owner.

Emil let out a sigh of relief, still panting from all the running. Before he could actually catch his breath, however, a shameless hand rubbed at his chest more than too suggestively.

"Welcome to the Kimchi Club! Open all day, all night!" An almost annoyingly familiar voice answered.

"Get off of me!" Emil pushed himself forward, stumbling out of the groper's hold.

"Oh! You're the cute Icelandic boy my brother likes!" Yong Soo grinned.

"Uh...sure. Well, I'm just going to leave now..." Emil turned his hand on the knob of the door, only to get pulled back by Yong Soo's strong grip.

"Nuh uh! It's not everyday I'm allowed to play with Xiao's stuff!"

"I'm not a piece of property, let me go!"

"Hehe, you're super adorable! And your hair is so pretty? Where do you get it dyed? Hair dye was invented in Korea, you know."

Emil narrowed his eyes. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it goes."

"Aiyah, Yong Soo...where's the drink I ordered?! Shitty service in this place, aru."

And as if Emil's day couldn't get any worse, there sat Yao, probably half drunk and looking like absolute shit.

"Coming, Aniki! Red bean tequila shots right~?" And Yong Soo sauntered off, just like that.

Emil was almost positive that there was something going on between those two.

He decided to leave them at peace, slipping out through the door with half of the sanity he came in with.

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but Emil finally figured out why Leon was trying to get Emil away from his grabby Korean cousin.

"Hey, cutie...Come with me." A hand shot out and grabbed him into an alleyway.

She was definitely beautiful, Emil would give her that much. And really curvy.

But Emil had just figured out last night that he wasn't into boobs.

"Listen, I'm sure you're a really great person in bed and stuff, but frankly, I'm not interested! All I wanted was a day to myself in quiet! And I've been ranted down by a lovesick police officer, chased by an angry furry dog, and molested by a Korean with an obsession of man-chests. I really, really don't want to be deflowered by a prostitute. So if you could, can you just let me go? I just want to go to the library and read a book. Please."

The skimpily clad lady just nodded, her grip on Emil's skinny wrist loosening. "S-sorry...Didn't know you had such a rough day."

Emil ran as fast as he possibly could to the library, flicking a quarter to the busty lady that had saved him from further troubles.

-A Little While Later-

When Emil had found his way to the library, he couldn't help but notice the crowd of kids that had gathered away from a lumpy purple, red and dark brown mass.

It was as if the thing repelled the children away from the whole shelf of children's books.

"Dammit!" And the thing face palmed himself, causing the mass of currently repelled children to scoot away even further.

"That's a bunch of mosquitoes you got there, Mister." A small boy piped up, and his mother pulled him closer to her protectively.

"Let me give you a tip; don't ever fall in love, you got that, kid?"

That voice sounded awfully familiar.

And suddenly the purple and red lump magically morphed into his co-worker.

"Leon?" Emil stepped in front of the crowd of annoyed mothers and curious children, and a very surprised Asian looked up from his book...

...About Iceland.

"E-Emil! I didn't see you come in...Uh, you feeling okay?"

The Icelandic made a small sound of amusement. "Hm, feeling better...Not really. Can I sit?"

Leon opened his arms out, leaving his lap open. "Sure, Ice."

Emil wrinkled his nose. "Do I have to...?"

"Come on, Ice. Be a good boy and sit in my lap." By now all the children had gone back to reading and the mothers were trying their best not to pay attention to them.

Emil was really quite tired of arguing and running and doing all sorts of things that he had done already today.

So he pushed back whatever shame he would feel later and plopped himself down onto Leon's firm lap.

"So, you gonna tell me about your day or do I need to force it out of you?" Leon went back to reading his book, though his attention was fully set on the boy that decorated his lap currently.

And so Emil started his story.

"Once upon a time..."

-linebreaklinebreakstorytimegatherroundchilds-

"He did what?!" Leon was either extremely amused or extremely pissed; Emil didn't know which it was.

"He put his hands on my chest a-and...and he groped them like a woman's!" By now all the mothers had disappeared with their children into further aisles of the library.

Leon let out a small chuckle. "D-Dude! You get chased by my brother's dog, which is completely harmless, by-the-way, and then you get groped by my cousin? All in one day, too, that's extremely amusing."

"That's not even the end of it. Listen to this; a fucking prostitute walked up to me..."

"Oh no."

"...And took me into an alleyway...!"

"Did you show her a good time, Ice?"

"Shut up, you pervert. Anyway, I just lost it, and-"

"You had passionate-"

"NO! No, nothing like that happened. At. All."

"So you just left her there?"

"Yeah."

"Without even a little goodbye kiss?"

"Yes."

"Dude, you're such a pansy."

"Thanks, that makes my day a whole lot better."

"Anything for you, Snow White."

"Will you stop with that nickname? I'm not a girl, stupid."

"Hm, well you look like one."

"Do not!"

"Do too. And you act like one."

"Fuck off, idiot!"

"Hm, no wonder that prostitute let you off easy."

"Excuse me?! What are you implying?!"

"Nothing, nothing..."

"You're annoying."

Suddenly, an old librarian marched up to them, and took them both by the ears. "Sirs, you have been distracting the quiet environment of this library for over half an hour! I'm sorry but you two will have to leave the premises of this here building." And once she managed to pull their ears all the way to the far road, she slammed the door shut. "Good day!" She hissed and marched back.

"Well, damn." Emil sighed; he was really hoping for peace and quiet.

Ah, the irony.

"I'm hungry, hey are you hungry?" Leon tugged on Emil's sleeve as if he was a child begging for ice cream. "I really want some ice cream, don't you?"

Well, damn. Again.

"Um...sure, I guess."

"Great! Let's go! I know a really good place that serves boba tea and ice cream!"

"Boba...?"

"I'll show you when we get there!"

-linebreakfinallybobateatimehaweeeeeeee-

Emil had no idea they served licorice ice cream.

Leon introduced him to the owner of the place, who turned out to be one of his cousins from Thailand. Then, of course, Leon ordered his share of ice cream and bubble tea. Before he took his order, however, he needed to ask something.

"Yo, cousin?"

"Yeah?" The Thai smiled at him brightly.

"This morning I was sneezing, but I wasn't sick. But this was like, really bad sneezing. Do you have any special herbs with you?"

"Hm...No, but I think I know what's wrong with you." His Thai cousin was said to have reached enlightenment, so of course he knew everything.

"Really?"

"Leon, someone was thinking and talking about you!" Scratch that. He was just stupid.

"Oh?" Leon tried his hardest not to bash his forehead against the counter.

"Yeah! Someone really really likes you. Kiku and Mei told me all about this old legend where-"

"Okay, see you later, Thai man." And Leon left him and the counter, where he kept rambling away about some old story.

Emil and Leon decided to sit outside, even though the warm weather was getting slightly chillier and the sun was sinking down into the city line.

"So, are you really feeling better? Like, last night didn't strain all of your emotions and stuff?" Leon took a sip of his lychee bubble tea, twirling his straw around all the soft chewy spheres.

"Yeah, I guess I was just out of it from all the...um, excitement, I guess."

Leon chuckled. "Excitement? That's not the exact word I would choose."

Emil shrugged. "Well, a lot happened last night. That's all."

Silence blanketed over the two, and they both couldn't help but stare at each other through the small sips of tea and nibbles of ice cream. It was almost uncomfortable, though neither had the heart to break it, that is, until;

"Skít!" (Shit!) (A/N: Please feel free to use this word whenever you'd like because Icelandic cussing is the best type of cussing.)

Leon half choked on a piece of tapioca before swallowing. "What happened?"

"Some of the ice cream dripped onto my jacket! This thing cost me nearly three hundred bucks!"

"Well, I know a way to get those stains off. Next time I visit, I'll show you."

"And by 'visiting,' you do mean breaking in without permission, right?"

"That's the only definition of 'visiting' in my vocabulary, yes."

They both exchanged quizzical expressions before bursting into jubilant laughter.

"Aw man, I don't even know what we're talking about anymore!"

"This has been an off day for the both of us, I think."

Their quiet chuckles trailed off, once again bringing back the silence that nearly permeated the air.

"Uh, listen, Ice...There's something that I need to tell you." The Asian tapped on his drink nervously in rapid flicks.

"Hm? What a coincidence, there was something I wanted to tell you too."

"Oh, okay, you go first."

"Um, no thanks, you can go first, Leon."

Leon smirked. "Nah, you can go."

"No, I'm almost positive that you should be going first."

"Who's the oldest here?"

"June 17th."

"July 1st." Leon smiled widely. "Looks like you're going first."

"You ass! Forget it, I'm not saying anything!" Emil popped a spoonful of licorice ice cream into his mouth, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Fine, fine. What I wanted to say was..." And the nervousness came back. Leon gulped down another mouthful of lychee-flavored liquid. "...I've been thinking about you, like, a lot. And...I've been kind of attracted to you for a while, but...uh, last night, I guess those feelings changed."

Emil swallowed and frowned. "Oh." So Leon liked him after all, but then his feelings changed?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Not in a bad way, I swear! Just in a...uh, more intense way? Ugh, what I'm trying to say is that...I realize that I, like, really love you. Like, this much." He opened his arms out as wide as he could. "Like, even bigger than this too."

The Icelandic didn't know what to say after Leon's (awkward) confession. He shared the same feelings as he did...He loved him... "I...I...um...I... Of course I feel the same way..."

"Yeah, I kind of noticed." Leon smirked proudly.

"You're a pain in the arse."

"So does that mean...?" He trailed off suggestively.

"NO! You're annoying." Emil got up to leave, when suddenly Leon grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, Emil..."

"Yeah?"

"Does that mean we're...?"

"We're what?" Emil fought back a flustered smile and tried to hold back the butterflies that bumped against his stomach.

"Are we boyfriends now?" Leon stood up, moving closer to Emil's body.

"Well...Do you want to be?" Emil immediately mentally slapped himself. We just confessed to each other! Of course he wants to be...

"Of course." He smiled warmly, and Emil thought his heart had melted a little. Cliche, it was. "Do you want to be my boyfriend, Emil?"

There it was.

Emil's legs weakened, and his heartbeat pounded out of his chest. It was actually happening, this rush to his face, the heat on his cheeks, this was everything he anticipated. But, it felt so alive, as if these sensations brought him the hype of a thousand espresso shots.

"Y-Yes...I want to."

Leon's smile grew even wider, his amber irises swirled in his eyes like liquid, Emil thought that they would drip out in the form of watery golden tears. His Asian lover leaned closer and tilted his head, brushing his nose against Emil's cheek. His ebony hair, lush and long, tickled Emil's pale skin.

Lavender eyes widened as almond-shaped amber ones stared into his. That's when time stopped. The city was as quiet as the silence that had wrapped itself around the two earlier. Leon's light golden-brown skin, like the thin baked crust of filo dough, slid across Emil's milky pearl-like skin, as if he was cherishing every inch of the Icelander.

"C...Can I...?" The Asian's warm breath ghosted against Emil's lips that were currently in between his teeth.

Emil unclenched his teeth from his lips. "Mmhm..."

Leon closed the tiny space that they had left in between each other, and let his lips close around his Icelandic lover's.

And the world exploded into vibrant bursts of color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bubble tea is a really popular drink that consists of fruit flavored (milk or regular) tea or crushed ice and fruit slush and tapioca, small "bubble" like chewy soft edible balls and/or different types of jelly inside of it. Personally, I like jelly instead of tapioca, and lychee is also my favorite drink! Lychee: A small Asian fruit-like berry thing that tastes sugary sweet, an almost tropical-like flavor. There's a small almond-shaped pit in the middle, and the soft white fruit is encased by a firm spiky pink shell/skin.
> 
> Yaayyyyy they're finally together! Hope you enjoyed this lovely chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CANADA AND HONG KONG!! OMFG Guys you have no idea how sorry I am for not updating for what, 3 weeks? Everyone thinks summer is so chill and calm, it's not. No one is ever free and my entire summer has been booked since about May. So to make up for not updating in forever we made this chapter as long, and as feelz as possible, I probably cried like 3 times, but lots of fluff to clense your souls. I hope you all love this chapter and forgive us for not updating. Also just for a heads up the next chapter is the last one, and we will try to get it up as soon as possible. Love you all! ~ Kawaiijilli + KiPanda Cutie XD

What was this feeling?

The feeling like something amazing but at the same time something dreadful was about to happen?

Emil opened his eyes, awakening from a deep sleep, then noticeably flinched back as he saw...was that Leon?!

His Asian boyfriend was perched upon his windowsill, like some kind of idiotic bird...thing.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Emil furiously rubbed his eyes awake.

"You're really quiet when you sleep."

"Yeah, I think that's what's supposed to happen when someone's asleep!" At the moment, he didn't question how or why he was at the window, and why he was being such a stalker.

"No, wait, I mean, like, you don't talk in your sleep or anything."

"Am I supposed to?!" Emil was getting really frustrated.

So that's how Lukas feels all the time when Mathias is around.

"No, no. I just thought that this would be something from Yong Soo's K-Dramas or Mei's fanfictions or something. Like, the girl talks in her sleep about the boy and stuff and then the boy just happens to be in the room or something..."

"Yeah, that's not happening. And don't compare me to a girl again."

"Make me." Leon stuck his tongue out playfully.

"I'll push you off the window. That'll shut you up, right?" Emil slid off the bed and poked at Leon's arm.

"Maybe. But that's not what I was going for." He waggled his eyebrows. "Gotta give me something if you want me to quiet down."

"P-pervert!" Emil backed away from said pervert, only to have him move in closer until they both were backed up against Emil's bed.

"Go away, stupid fool."

"Hey, you sound like that Italian guy. The really angry one."

"I do not! You sound like his tomato bastard of a boyfriend then."

"That means we're together, right?"

"Shut up!"

"Make me."

"Not this again!"

"Then you better shut me up~."

Emil frowned. "If I knew any better, I'd say you'd be an exact replica of your Korean cousin."

"Don't compare me to an idiot, Icy." Leon brushed aside his bangs and feigned a pout, scooting his face closer. His golden eyes bore into the latter's purplish ones, searching into the other's soul, unfurling unspoken words.

"You're annoyed." Leon pointed out.

"I have a reason to be."

"Good morning, Ice."

"Góðan daginn, Hong."

Leon hummed in response, meshing his lips with Emil's. The Icelander's eyes fluttered shut, his expression softening into compliancy and content.

"Morning." Leon whispered again, his lips still connected with Emil's.

"Mm...M-morning..."

Leon ruffled Emil's hair, stroking the nearly ashy silver locks playfully. "We have work to do today."

"I know." The Icelander, in turn, leaned against Leon, so that his legs were on either side of his body.

Leon grinned. "Hey, you know what'd be fun?" He hoisted his arms under Emil's legs.

"...What?" Emil looped his arms around his lover, expecting another kiss.

Leon smirked and stood abruptly onto his feet, lifting Emil with him. The Asian simply laughed as he ran out the door with the Icelandic load with him, while said Icelander shrieked at the top of his lungs.

"You can expect this every morning from now on, Emmy."

"PUT ME DOWN!"

-linebreakhonhonhongiceandpiggybackrides-

"Shhhh, Lukas might still be sleeping."

"He seems like an early-waker to me. Hey, what happens if I run down the stairs?"

"Don't!"

"C'mon, it'll be fine."

"No! Stop!"

Leon swung Emil's body to his back, the latter still clinging onto the Asian's body like a baby koala.

"Cute..."

"Shut up."

Leon spun around in circles, almost as if there wasn't another human on his back. Emil groaned weakly, the whole room spinning around him. "You're an idiot...I'm climbing down now."

"No you aren't." And Leon sprinted down the stairs like a madman.

"GOD, HOW OLD ARE YOU?!"

"Twenty one!" Leon laughed as he jumped down the last step, switching back to carrying Emil bridal style.

"Well, you act like a four year old."

"Ouch, not cool. Especially that number."

"What? The number four?"

"Yes." Leon wrinkled his nose up slightly.

"Another superstition of yours that I don't believe in?" Emil brushed himself off and pulled at Leon's sweeping bangs with a small frown.

"Of course, what else?" Leon entered what seemed to be the kitchen. "Do you have any food?"

Emil was set down on the counter. "Yeah. Fish, more fish, and lamb. Oh, we have frozen breakfast stuff too."

Leon nodded and pulled out a box of frozen pancakes, looking for something sweet and liquidy at the same time. "No maple syrup?"

"No, we eat them plain."

"I know a Canadian friend of mine that would really, really hate you right now."

Emil shrugged. "Can't be as bad as Lukas when we run out of butter."

Leon took the now warm pancakes out of the microwave. "Here."

Emil mumbled a simple thanks and unlocked the door. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Did you forget? We have Ivan Braginsky to catch."

-linebreaklinebreakletsgetdowntobusiness-

As Emil pulled up to the nearest parking space, he noticed the time.

For the very first time that day.

"Dammit, why didn't you tell me I overslept, Leon?!"

"You looked so peaceful..."

"Ew, stop it with the cheesy soap lines."

"I have a Korean cousin, sue me." Leon grinned.

"Maybe I will." Emil leaped out of the driver's seat with a small hop, slamming the car door behind him.

Leon followed in suit, sneaking an arm around Emil's waist. "I wouldn't blame you then." He nuzzled his nose further into Emil's personal space until he rested it upon a pale cheekbone.

"Not here!" Emil tried to push him away.

"Aw, c'mon, Ice. Just one kiss?" Leon's amber eyes danced mischievously.

"No. If the Captain sees, it'll be the end of the world!" He squirmed away from Leon's warm breath on his face.

"How come...? I'm sure the Captain will understand...After all, she's been in a couple relationships...and I want the world to know that we're together so nobody takes you away."

"That's not what I mean!" She acts like a madwoman when she realizes her workers are dating each other...

But before Emil could protest, Leon had crashed his lips onto his and was guiding him into the building.

"St...p...eh..." Emil tried to mumble. He tried to fight back, he really did. But he decided to give up shortly after his vain attempts.

Leon smiled, and pushed open the door. It was hard to pay attention where he was going when there was an adorable Icelander connected to him, when he was breathing in the smell of the Icelander's natural scent, that of which smelled distinctly like mountain avens, licorice, and fresh blistering air. It was especially hard to concentrate when his lips were moving against yours in such a shy, adorable way.

"Hei, look who's putting on the PDA show now." A certain Norwegian gave the two a small smirk.

Emil immediately pulled away, rubbing his mouth before speaking. "Shut up. At least we didn't ruin the bathroom counters on the second floor."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "What's this about bathroom counters on the second floor?"

Emil barely lifted his lips in a smile. "Nothing. All you need to know is that they were unrepairable and Lukas left permanent damage on the mirrors." He leaned closer to Leon's ear. "And after further testing in the lab on the second floor, it was confirmed that there was a Danish man's residue left on the sink..." Leon nearly burst into a fit of laughter after hearing the last statement.

The Norwegian narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, his apathetic expression refusing to change. "Captain, get out your camera."

Emil froze. "You..."

Before he could finish, the wild stomping sounds of their Hungarian captain rattled the hallways. "I'M COMING~!"

Leon attempted to sling a protective arm around his lover, but Emil shook his head. "Don't! This will make it even harder for us to escape. Just follow me." Emil grabbed Leon's hand and guided him to the consultant cubicles, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Now what?" Leon whispered.

"Now, we get on with searching for Braginsky's whereabouts."

Leon gave his lover a long whine. "Do we have to?"

"Do you want to get paid?" Emil inquired with a roll of his eyes and started up the desktop that was catching dust.

"Well...yes. Money is great." Leon scooted Emil over, taking over the keyboard. "Shall I work my Cantonese magic?"

"Well, seeing as you already took the keyboard away from me, go ahead." Emil narrowed his eyes, despite the small curve of his lips.

Leon clacked away on the buttons, fingers speedily dashing over letter number keys as if he was merely flicking over them. "I can pull up the police database, but Ivan Braginsky's updated information seems to be...missing."

"What?! How is that even possible?! We apprehended him a couple days ago, he escaped, and NOW his new information in the police files are missing?! Check up on any networking site, go to the dark side of the web, anything! I want to find his information and I want to see him behind bars!" Emil crossed his arms angrily and huffed.

"Cute..." Leon murmured quietly, earning a glare full of daggers from Emil. "I'll try searching the dark web, since Ivan's an assassin and all that jazz. There has to be information about him here somewhere..." After a while, Leon sighed, running a hand through his (most likely gelled) hair. "No luck. I even went to the horny pages filled with-"

"No thanks, I'm good." Emil frowned. "Well how are we going to get him now? He didn't leave a cyber footprint, so how are we going to find him?"

Leon squinted at the monitor, switching back from the HVPD database back to the dark web and countless other pages. "Hm...I'm looking back at Braginsky's old criminal description covering all of the different crimes he committed and all I'm getting are tidbits about a couple of guys with names that are hard to say."

Emil studied the monitor closely.

Tori Laurinaitis.

Eduard Von Bock.

Raivis Galante.

"These guys...We need to speak with them!"

-linebreaklinebreakshitgoesdowntimewaha-

"I don't understand why I'm here, I have a shift at the pet shop and if I don't finish, my boyfriend'll have my head!"

Tori Laurinaitis; he was really timid and nervous, and he was more nervous about his boyfriend killing him than his own boss.

Eduard and Raivis...they called for their lawyers.

"This will only take a few minutes, Mr. Laurinaitis." Emil pulled out a large manilla folder and started searching through its contents.

"O-oh...Well...Well I guess a couple questions couldn't hurt. But I still don't understand why I'm here."

Leon tugged on one of his long brown strands of hair while taking out his cellphone. "Where were you on the day Mr. Oxenstierna's front yard was ransacked?"

"I-I...I wouldn't call it ransacking...And I was um...closing up shop and feeding my pet cat."

"I would tell the truth, Mr. Laurinaitis." Emil narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. He hated being the bad guy in these situations, hated putting pressure on poor guys like Toris. But this was his job, and this was also connected to a personal matter. It had to be done.

Leon flicked open his cell phone and waved it around, a familiar video on its screen. "This video, Toris, reveals what exactly happened on that day, who exactly was at the scene of the crime, and what said criminals stole from Oxenstierna's household. You have two choices, take this the easy way, and go to jail for a couple of months, or take the hard way, and go to jail for a couple of years."

"If I tell you, the person that blackmailed us might come back and hurt us..." The Lithuanian stared quietly at the wooden interrogation table.

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," Emil soothed, "If you tell us, we'll give you an escort home and you'll be protected by the HVPD."

Toris looked around fearfully, as if Ivan was actually right behind him, or rather, all around him.

"What's up with this guy...?" Leon whispered to Emil, not taking his blank gaze off of the Lithuanian.

"I don't know...I'll be asking the questions. Go to the other room with the Captain." Emil pecked Leon's cheek once. He heard the Captain squeal loudly through the soundproof glass.

Once the Asian had left, Emil resigned himself to a plastic chair in front of his interrogation subject.

"Y-you two seem pretty close..." Tori noted with a soft expression in his eyes.

"Mm...yeah, I guess. Do you have someone like him?"

"Yes...I...I do."

"Tell me about him." Emil decided it was best to calm the boy down as much as he could before he started asking questions that fit in with the case at hand.

"Well...his name is Feliks, and he's a fashion designer at Karpusi Co. He likes pink...a lot. And ponies. I wish that...that I could've seen him one more time before I got here. He's my most favorite person in the whole world." Tori sighed wistfully, and Emil noticed that when he talked about Feliks, his stutter faded.

"I see...He sounds like a wonderful person, Toris." Emil almost felt guilty about bringing him into the station for questioning.

"Will y-you talk about your p-person?" Toris gave Emil a nervous smile.

Well, this guy didn't seem much of a threat, why not?

"Hmm...I guess that's okay. His name is Leon, he has another name, which is his Cantonese name, and he's one of my most favorite people in the whole world. He likes firecrackers and authentic Chinese food. He also likes cute things," Emil could almost see Leon's frown boring into the back of his neck from the glass. "And we met a while back when I arrested him for blowing up some English guy's house."

Toris smiled softly, and a blanket of calm surrounded the room. Emil couldn't see it; how did this guy connect to Ivan Braginsky? He could hear his stutter, that's for sure, but that could've been just something he acquired when he was young. There was only one way to find out the truth.

"Toris, can you tell me everything you know about Ivan Braginsky?"

Toris froze in his seat, a surprised expression on his face. "Wha...what? W-who?"

"This man." Emil pulled out a photo of the baby-faced Braginsky.

Immediately, something flashed behind Toris' eyes and he shivered. "Nn..."

The Icelandic boy tried to hold his ground. "Toris, I know you have information that is valuable to the HVPD on this guy. We need your help to catch him. If you would just give us the information we need..."

"You're going to p-put me in j-jail...the s-same jail he's in...H-he'll find a way out...H-He'll find a way to k-k-kill me..." Toris' hand kept shaking, fidgeting with the ends of the table and tracing random patterns into the surface.

"He'll be going to jail, yes. But at this rate, since he's an assassin wanted by the government, we'll have to give him the death penalty." Emil didn't know how that was supposed to make him feel any better. "And even if he was just going to be locked up forever, he'll be separated from your cell. During recess, prison guards will keep watch. You're under safe protection, Toris."

"N-no...He'll find a way...I know it..." Toris shook his head feebly. "But I will tell you the information I know...If you're sure I'll be protected." Emil nodded at him, giving him a small smile.

"When I first met him, we were little kids, but I could already tell there was something odd about him. There was always a five mile distance around him in which people would not dare step into. He was always asking for friends, but nobody would dare come close to him. Feliks and I met back then too, back then he and I were friends.

When I was older, after Feliks and I started courting, Ivan showed back up again. This time, there was a more intense intimidating air around him, and he looked much more intimidating as well. Ivan still kept asking for people to be his friend, however one day...

...He just stopped.

His, 'Be friends with me, da?' somehow changed into, 'Become one with me, da?'

"It sounds disgustingly wrong when you first hear it, but...It had an alternate meaning than that perceived. That's when Ivan found Raivis, Eduard, and I.

"Raivis, as you know, is very young, and he was recruited by Ivan at the tender age of seven. Ivan had somehow intoxicated him with alcohol, and it was such a heavy and constant dose that he started getting addicted to the drink.

"Eduard, he was a closet gamer. He told me he had a pile of Japanese games he could hack to do the craziest of things, and he could even create his own personal wifi system in a tap of his mouse. However, he got tired of the same old boring computer tricks so Ivan recruited him as a hacker.

"As for me...I was very low on money, and even moving in with Feliks, I felt as if I should do more to help. I originally wanted to become a veterinarian, however, nobody gave me the job. Ivan recruited me, saying he could supply me with a decent job right up my field. That...ah, that was half true. I got a job working as a pet store employee, however, in return for this job I had to be a part of Ivan's team.

"Our first job was to sneak up about Berwald Oxenstierna's files in his building. Raivis, Eduard, Ivan and I were all there. Ivan really hated the guy because Mr. Berwald won the affections of a Finnish boy when Ivan was very close to recruiting him onto his team as a sharpshooter. He wanted revenge. That was his main plan. However, things didn't go as to planned and we were all arrested. Luckily, Feliks and Raivis' mother had the money to bail us out. However, we were all marked into the HVPD database.

This wasn't Ivan's first time, but somehow he was free without much trouble.

"Ivan was not happy for some odd reason after that. And that was when the true penance for joining Ivan's side revealed itself. There was a day..." Toris swallowed uneasily. "There was a day when we all met up at Ivan's hideout, and he requested I see him for a moment. I asked him why I was called away from the others, but Ivan did not say. Instead, he replied something like, 'I do not think you are very loyal to us, Toris.' And I was very scared, but I said, 'What do you mean? I am very loyal! I stay here with all of you, and carry out the dirty work!' He was not happy after I said that. He then said, 'Dirty work? I do all the dirty work around here, little one. I kill to protect our identities, and I murder to make sure we are sustaining ourselves. Money, food...it is what you need, is that right?' He stepped closer to me, and there was something in his hands. It was a long rope-like thing that glinted like hard metal. I didn't say anything after that, but he kept speaking." Emil was surprised at how clear Toris' voice was. "He said, 'You are not very loyal to us, Toris. You avoid your duties, playing around with that Feliks boy. Your responsibilities are being dismissed. For being so disloyal and irresponsible, you will be punished.' And then...a-and t-t-then..." Toris broke into quiet sobbing.

Emil sat into the empty chair next to Toris and placed his arms around him. "It's okay, Toris. You don't have to say what happened. I can't imagine what he did, but I think I know."

"I-I can show you the scars. They are on my back."

"N-no, that's really not necessary-" Emil started.

"Let him show you." Came a voice from the speaker. Emil cast a glance at Leon, who was scowling ever so slightly, a change from his frown of heavy thinking. "Let him show you the scars."

Emil let out a shaky sigh, and glared at Leon before nodding at Toris. The Lithuanian slowly pulled off his shirt and turned around, revealing angry, jagged scars on his back. A couple of them trailed down towards the small of his back, another disappearing halfway into the back of his straight brown slacks.

There were so many.

And some of them were still fresh.

Emil was about to call for the medical team when Toris turned back around. "Feliks fixed up the recent ones for me."

Emil eyed a soft looking mark on his shoulder blade. "This one looks oddly different from the rest."

The Lithuanian immediately flushed a bright red in response. "I...um...Feliks and I are together...um...and he must've...when he was fixing up..."

Emil realized where Toris was going with his statement, and he quickly shied away from the mark. "Sorry, sorry. I don't mean to prod in that kind of business."

When Toris had his shirt back on, and Leon had finished making cat calls and loud whistles over the speaker, Emil continued his interrogation. "What do you know about what happened at Adnan Inc.?"

"Originally, Mr. Adnan's company was a fashion-oriented business, although they did focus on Turkish antiques and wares. Sadik's company was arch rivals with Karpusi Co., the fashion agency run Feliks works at. But Ivan started blackmailing Sadik, swearing that he would brutally murder him if he did not cooperate and completely turn his company into a furniture business to rival Berwald Oxenstierna's. He was not initiated into our group, however, he was just a pawn in Ivan's plan. We all were, but Mr. Adnan was the pawn he needed to completely get his revenge.

"Sadik was told to avoid the police's questions at all cost, and Ivan went to far extents to make sure his plan went to work. Ivan made us disguise ourselves in masks to make sure we looked like one of Sadik's coworkers. That was the day we were told to infiltrate Mr. Mathias Kohler's cafe and kidnap Mr. Tino. Of course, Raivis was drunk that day. And when Raivis is drunk...He acts...differently. More bold and intimidating. And...I think Ivan had something to do with it.

"When we had burst into the cafe, everybody got chaotic all at once. Suddenly, a huge guy with an axe and a small little boy with a gun started running towards us. Eduard figured that the small boy was the person we needed to kidnap, so Raivis and I decided to hold off the big guy with the axe."

"That is, until this Asian waitress came along. He didn't have any sort of weapon, and he was dressed in a skirt just like Tino. Raivis decided to go after him, and-" Toris blinked in realization. "It was this guy!" He pointed at Leon, who was smirking through the window. "He beat down Raivis!"

Emil gave Leon a flabbergasted look. "I...don't believe it. He really is a waitress..."

"I'll wear my dress for you tomorrow if you want, Icy baby." Leon winked at the now blushing Emil, avoiding the intense stare his Hungarian captain was giving him.

"I always knew there was something going on between you two! You guys are so perfect it hurts my tough Hungarian heart! I have to tell this to Kiku, and-and Mei, and Roddy! Oh, oh! They'll be so excited, but Roddy might not, he's such an uptight little princess! But, but...I'm so excited!" Elizaveta rambled on mindlessly, too caught up in her fangirl-induced daze to catch the strange looks she was getting, and the especially surprised one from Leon when his half-brother and sister were mentioned.

Emil rolled his eyes. "Anyway, please, continue your story."

Toris laughed nervously. "Okay, well...I... After we were all beat down, we were put into jail. Of course, Ivan picked us up, bailed us out. He was not happy with us, and we faced punishment back home. When we-"

"Hold on, hold on. You said you were facing punishment back 'home.' Isn't your home back at Feliks' place?" Emil tried not to answer his own question.

"Well...there was something I didn't tell you. About...um...a-about Feliks. He...when Ivan..after he punished me...the first time...he was very angry with Raivis and I...s-so m-much that h-he...h-he...tortured them...right in front of our eyes...Feliks was so beaten up...So much b-blood...He looked so sad...so weak...The worst part was...Raivis and I couldn't do anything. He was worse off, having watched his mother getting tortured right in front of him. One day, Raivis saw Ivan bring in two large duffel bags, and...a-and when he asked what was inside...Ivan said...no, he smiled. It wasn't money, we knew that. And when Ivan didn't answer, Raivis kind of broke down. He wasn't stupid, he knew. The bags his the broken bodies of the two most important people in the world. Because of that...I had no where else to go...we had no where else to go. So we stayed there, at Ivan's. This happened only recently, I remember, but I do not know the exact amount of days."

Toris' eyes drifted away from reality, as if living back in the exact moment, imagining the dark bags, spattered with dried blood. One containing a woman, with long dirty blonde curls for hair, one of her eyes half lidded and foggy, the other eye wide open and bloodshot, glassy as a wine flute. The other bag contained a boy, shoulder high hair that was made of pure sunshine, now dirtied from ground scum and crimson fluids. His hands were mangled, scratched and wringed inhumanly. His bag would be opened by a traumatized lover, tear stained half-lidded eyes closed by a calloused but gentle hand, a hand full of pumping veins and firm living flesh.

Emil shook Toris' shoulder. "Toris. Toris. Wake up, snap out of it." The foggy drift in the Lithuanian's eyes cleared.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Are you ready for the next question?" Emil was so close, so close to finding out Braginsky's whereabouts.

"Emil, that's enough." Leon spoke through the speaker. "He's been through enough."

"But Leon, we're so close to finding Braginsky! Just one more question and we'll-"

"No, Emil." Leon's voice was stern. "Look at him, Em. He's gone out of his mind."

Emil glared at Leon. "We're so close, Leon. Leon, please..." Leon avoided his gaze.

"No, Emil." The captain squealed a bit, murmuring something yaoi fights.

Emil excused himself from his spot, promising Toris he would come back. He closed the door behind him and turned off the speakers. "Leon, can I see you for a moment? Alone."

Captain Hédevéry mumbled something about how she needed to see a certain Prussian and slam her frying pan into his supermodel face and excused herself.

"Leon, why can't you see that this is important to me? To us? We're so close to catching Braginsky and taking him in." Emil crossed his arms in frustration. "What is your problem?"

Leon ran a weary hand through his hair, the other hand tugging on the ends of his hair. "Why can't you get it, Em? I want you to take a good look at this guy's face, and tell me he's okay to question further. Go on, and like, look."

Emil scowled and turned his attention to the troubled Lithuanian in the other room. Toris fidgeted with his fingers, his eyes wandering around the room nervously.

"You can't go back in there and ask, Em. He's not mentally stable enough."

"But I have to! This is important for the case! If we don't find out where Braginsky is, we'll never catch him, and-"

"What is this really about?" Leon's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly.

"...W-What...?!" Emil stumbled back a bit, leaning himself against the wall.

"Why are you so obsessed with this Braginsky guy? Why are you so obsessed with learning about this Toris guy's information about him?" Leon narrowed his eyes, but didn't advance forward.

"I...I..." Emil blinked for a minute. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend. And I care about you. Hell, I even love you. And that's always a plus." He managed to get a laugh out of Emil. "So you're going to tell me. Right now, preferably."

"And...what if I don't?" Emil narrowed his eyes.

"I'll make you talk, Em." Leon threatened, though his smirk drained the dangerous nature out of the conversation.

"Oh, really? Take your best shot, then. My lips-" He pulled an imaginary zipper across his mouth. "-are zipped."

Leon placed his index finger against Emil's lips and waved them across the smooth skin. "Let me unzip them then." His finger waved across his lips in constant swipes, smiling inwardly to himself when he felt Emil tremble from his ministrations.

"What the hell are you doing, moron?" Emil scowled.

"Cantonese magic. Are you ready to talk?"

"N-no. I just wanted to tell you that...um...Toris can still see us from the window."

"Good. I want to see his reaction when he watches me use my own methods of interrogation on you." He purred, a glint aflame in his golden eyes.

"You perv." Emil mumbled, earning a gasp from Leon.

"Oh, no, no, no! I'm not implying that of all things, Emmy...but if you want..."

"I'm still not talking." Emil frowned. "And I'm still asking that question."

Leon lowered his gaze, eyes aflame with something different. "Oh, that's fine, Emil." He watched Emil turn the knob on the door, before grabbing his wrist. "But first..."

"What are you-"

Leon brought their faces close, until their lips were almost, barely touching. "In return for being mean and not telling me whatever you're hiding, you shall be punished. Your punishment is...no touching." He smirked and pulled his head away. "Until you tell me what secret you're hiding."

Emil shrugged. "I can deal with that. I'm not some whiny touchy feely schoolgirl, Leon."

The Asian's smirk grew wider. "Oh, really? We'll see about that."

-When Emil Closed the Door-

"Okay, Toris. Can you tell me where exactly Ivan is?"

"He sh-should be at his hideout." Toris tried to hide his blush away, having seen the two consultants arguing...in their own kind of way.

"And...where exactly is his hideout?" Emil tried to stop a frustrated pout from growing on his features when he saw that Leon had gotten a cookie from the break room and was currently nibbling on it as slow as he could.

"Uh...um...I have an address." Emil passed a scrap of paper to Toris, and he scribbled down the location.

"Thank you. That's all the information we need. Officer Mathias will show you to your cell. Don't worry; you won't be in here long. It's just a couple of months, that's a short time if you keep your hope up." He guided the Lithuanian out of the interrogation room, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"He looks crushed..." Leon pointed out in between bites of cookie.

"Well...At least I got an address." Emil rebutted.

"Well, yeah, but look at the poor guy. He's practically melting into a puddle of sadness. You, like, crushed him."

"I could strangle you right now." Emil glared, wringing his hands in the air as if the emptiness was Leon's lean neck.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Leon smiled sweetly. "No touching. That is your punishment. No matter how much you want to kill me, or passionately make out with me, you cannot touch this happy hunk of handsome until you tell me why you're so obsessed with Mr. Kol Kol Kol."

Emil made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat and turned himself around on his heel and stomped off. "I'm going to look for Ivan. You can stay here and play your silly game."

"Hm, that's an invitation." He caught up to Emil's stomping in two strides. "I call driving!"

"You don't even know where the address is." Emil frowned.

"That's why you're going to give me the address in your hand." Leon narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Or I'll tell Lukas that we did the do."

Emil froze in his spot and practically threw the address at Leon. "WHAT THE HELL?! Fine! Take it and drive, I don't care." Disturbing images started popping into his mind, images he wasn't fond of. At all.

"Thank you, Icy baby. Give me a kiss?" He batted his eyelashes flirtatiously.

"Hmph." Emil leaned over to peck Leon's cheek, but suddenly, he found himself face-first into a wall.

The Asian chuckled. "No touchy, Emmy."

"God, I hate you."

-One Drive to a Russian Assassin's Hideout Later-

"Knock, knock. It's the HVPD." Leon sing songed outside the door. "We're here for information and food, open up."

"But you just had a cookie earlier!" Emil protested.

"My hunger is never satiated, Ice." He winked at the Icelander, who, in return, raised a threatening hand to his face.

Leon tapped his foot on the door, when there was no answer, he sighed. "I didn't want to use these, actually I did, but, you leave me no choice." He pulled out a long string of firecrackers from his sleeve. "These firecrackers will explode your welcome mat and your door."

"NO! Don't use explosives, Leon!" Emil swatted the firecrackers away from the door, and Leon snickered and shoved them back into his white button-up sleeves. "Just kick down the door or something."

"As you wish." Leon smashed the bottom of his foot against the door in a powerful sidekick, sending the door crashing into the Russian's hideout in dozens of fragments.

"Hello...? Ivan Braginsky, reveal yourself or face arrest the hard way." Emil searched through the kitchen, while Leon searched the upstairs.

"Ice? Ivan isn't here." Leon called from the second floor.

"It's clear here too." Emil sighed and pulled out his cellphone.

"Hei, Officer Bondevik speaking." An apathetic voice piped up through the static.

"Lukas, it's me, Emil. I'm going to need-"

"Who is this again...?" Emil wrinkled up his nose, knowing that Lukas was inwardly smirking through the phone.

"This is your lillebror, Lukas." Emil groaned through the phone. "And as I have told you already, I need back up to survey the perimeter and interior of the house until Ivan gets back."

"Why? Where are you?"

"I'm at Ivan Braginsky's hideout, and I'll send the address to you via text message."

"Okay, I'll tell the Captain. Stay safe, goodbye now." Lukas murmured.

"See you." Emil flipped his phone shut and walked through the house.

The place was neater than he first expected, he would give the Russian that. But, having three underlings by your side, he would've most likely turned them all into his personal servants while he was at it. However, there was one spot of the living room that struck a chord in the Icelander. It was almost...too clean. Bookshelves were dusted and sorted through by novel and alphabetical order. Soft candlelight flickered, sending shadows across the walls, not a drip of wax leaking through the small candle. However, in the corner of the room, Emil observed, the wall seemed indented, soft. Upon further inspection, his fingers ran across a small hole, that of which he put his index through, the horrific thought of one of his own fingers being chopped off right before his eyes never crossing through his mind. He moved it uselessly through the small hole, not aware of the figure that was sneaking up on him.

"Ice, what are you doing?" Leon looked over Emil's shoulder curiously.

"Stop breathing on me!" The Icelander moved to the side, and, in turn, the indented part of the wall moved beside him, groaning in response as an opening was revealed.

"What did you do...?" Leon peeked inside. "What is this place?"

"I have no clue, why are you asking me? And don't go in there! You don't know if Ivan might be hiding in there, or if he's hiding some kind of body down there, or-"

"Em...look at this."

Emil stepped inside the room, his eyes blinking and squinting as they adjusted to the bright LED light, the switch Leon had found just moments ago. Flattened newspapers scattered a wooden desk, countless files and records stacked in a clean column. The walls inside were painted with other pinned newspapers, those of which looked older than the ones on the desk.

"What...is this place?" Emil examined one of the papers, and flinched back, as if words were burning through his skull. "Oh, God..."

"What? Em, are you alright?" Leon inquired gently, punishment forgotten as he placed both of his warm hands on the latter's shoulder.

"The newspaper...wait..." Emil's eyes skimmed over the other newspapers on the wall, and he staggered back in shock. "These newspapers...look."

Leon pulled his lover close to his side and peered at a newspaper, scanning its contents.

Local Found Dead in Alleyway

On the XX of XXX, year XXXX, a city local identified as Alexander Bondevik was found dead in an alleyway on the far edge of downtown Hetaville.

Investigators believe that this attack may have been the work of the most notorious gang in town, known as the Vrede en Liefde. Motive is unclear. The autopsy done on Bondevik showed that the man appeared to have been drugged, and suffered two gunshots to the chest, ultimately rupturing his trachea.

The drugs used on the victim have been used before, death to these individuals nearly identical. All victims under the drug were found dead in the same alleyway, however cause of death ranged from multiple stab wounds to blood force trauma to the head. Bondevik, age XX, had a wife, Ingrid Bondevik, age XX and one child, Lukas Bondevik, age 2.

Some of the paragraphs seemed to be smudged out completely, the words permanently erased from the paper and faded from time.

Leon swallowed a lump down his throat, and he let Emil bury his head into his shirt. "Em, I'm going to look through the rest of these on the wall. You go examine the ones on the desk. Those ones shouldn't be as traumatizing I hope. If you need anything, just tell me, 'kay?"

Emil nodded slowly and unlatched himself from Leon's shirt. All these newspapers were about...him. His family, himself. There were even files from the HVPD database about him, that of which scared him more than just a little.

"I don't get it, Ice. How come there are files that relate to a man named Bondevik and a man named Steilsson? They were murdered the same way as well..."

"No. My father, Eirik Steilsson, he wasn't drugged or shot. I saw him getting stabbed in front of my eyes. Lukas' father, however, I didn't get the chance to meet him." Emil started reading the first couple papers.

XX/XXX/XXXX

Bondevik;

Enclosed is the last envelope of change you will ever receive from us. I expect you to pay off every last coin in the next three years. Since you have left us for the normalcy of a family life, I figure you don't want to have anything to do with us. Still, I expect these loans to be paid off.

Daan.

The next letter was written about three years later.

XX/XXX/XXXX

Steillson;

It's been three years and all you have sent back is loose change. I don't think you remember the amount that was enclosed to you. Every loan has to be paid off. Failure to complete this will result in the complete annihilation of your family. We're watching you. We knew about your name change, and we know about your two kids too. Pay off what you owe and no one will get hurt.

Daan.

Emil frowned at the letters he was holding in his hands. Name change...? Was he talking about Lukas' dad and his own father?

Name change...

And just when Emil was in the process of getting an idea, Leon decided to ask a question.

"I still don't get all this family business. And I have a family filled with cousins, half brothers and half cousins!"

Emil rolled his eyes. "My mother, Ingrid, and Lukas' father, Alexander Bondevik, had Lukas, and sometime later, more like two years later, he died and my mother remarried to my father, Eirik Steillson. Four years later, he died, as well as my mother."

Name change...

Emil drowned out the rest of Leon's words, his brain finally kicking into gear. This Daan guy couldn't have been talking about my father or Lukas' father if there had been an obvious surname change. The only person capable of getting a name change is...

XX/XXX/XXXX

Daan;

I'm leaving this letter to you because I am leaving the Vrede en Liefde. Alexander and I do not want our child to grow up in a dangerous environment, and I want our children to be raised with better opportunities than we have.

I know that you're our leader, but you're young. Someday, you'll understand, won't you? We don't want any business with you anymore.

However...I am hoping that you will be able to give us money, the last loan we will ask of you. This is for the benefit of our child, please understand.

Ingrid Bondevik.

Emil dropped the letter, letting it flutter from limp fingers. "Ma..."

He could see himself right there again, his small pale frame, his bleeding brother's head, the congealing dribbles of blood running thickly down his father's slack jaw. The way his brother carried him out the door urgently, trying to shield his view. He could hear the strangled shrieks of her mother quiet down half-scream, the splashing sounds of the blood, the loud gunshot.

"All this time...She was involved with them. All this time...they've been tracking us. They've been after us...because of some stupid loan...!" Emil murmured, lost in some other world. He felt himself scream inwardly, his whole lips threatening to spill the noise.

And suddenly, Emil's thoughts traveled to a shady hideout, a tall Dutch man and a horny Frenchman. He remembered being tied with ropes, and he remembered being used for ransom for his brother.

It was all so much to take in, everything was clicking into place too fast for Emil to process. Only a few questions spun in his head, he knew for sure: Why did Ivan have all these papers? Why was Ivan searching things up on him and his family? And how could he get his hands on the Vrede en Liefde?

The last letter answered his pining question about Ivan Braginsky. The letter had been written about three to four years ago.

XX/XXX/XXXX

Braginsky;

I, Daan, welcome you into the Vrede en Liefde. An initiation is not required for your allowance into our circle.

We have come to know your ability of an assassin quite well, in fact, it was you who was hired by one of our rivaling gang to eliminate some of our qualified members. However, we have been recently aware of your ability to track down certain people and pinpoint their whereabouts. Enclosed is the starting amount of money you will receive for your service.

Your tracking subjects are Emil Stiellson and Lukas Bondevik.

Their family owes me money that they need to pay off. Track them, and I can guarantee you that the payload will increase significantly.

Daan.

The money that was supposedly enclosed with the letter was no where to be found, the only evidence Emil needed to know that Braginsky had accepted this assignment, and that he and his brother were being tracked without either of them knowing.

-We Switch to What was Happening to Leon in the Moment-

The walls were plastered with everything about his lover and Lukas. Bank transactions, passport records, birth certificates and medical records. Every footprint they had made in the cybernet was there as well; Leon couldn't help but feel a little perturbed at every piece of evidence in the room.

Emil was currently transfixed in the pile of letters he was reading, but Leon couldn't help but feel like something was very, very wrong. He was about to place a reassuring hand on Emil's shoulder, but his hand instead brushed over a large Manila envelope, knocking it down and sending all of its contents to the floor. Leon immediately yelped as soon as his eyes met the papers that were scattered about.

They weren't documents, rather...they were photos. Slick to the touch, small rectangular photos. There must've been more than a dozen held inside its paper envelope, and on each photo, Emil and Lukas adorned the focus. They didn't seem to notice the cameraman in each one, and they were taken in the most random of places; the grocery mart, the bank, a lawyer firm, as well as in certain parts of the city.

So this guy's an assassin, as well as a stalker.

Once Leon finished placing the pictures back into the manilla envelope, he slipped it into his jacket. Better save this, just in case we need evidence to throw Braginsky in jail.

"All this time...She was involved with them. All this time...they've been tracking us. They've been after us...because of some stupid loan...!" Emil's eyes were almost glazed over, almost like Toris', as if he was somewhere else in far off space rather than in a dingy secret room.

Cue silent Leon freak out.

HOLY SHIT. HE LOOKS LIKE A ZOMBIE.

"Em...?" He ruffled Emil's platinum strands, but he wouldn't arouse from his trance.

"Ice? Wake up." Leon shook the latter's body gently, and this time the Icelander blinked away the fog in his eyes.

"L...Leon...? What are you doing...?"

"Hm, trying to make sure you're okay." Leon answered blandly.

"I'm good...thanks." Emil picked up the letter that had fallen out of his hands, and pocketed it away in his jacket.

"HVPD! Step away from the papers, and put your hands up!" A gruff voice replied.

Emil's eyes widened, and he slowly raised his hands above his head.

"You too, Eyebrows." The HVPD Officer shouted.

Leon followed in Emil's suit, hands above his head. "Cool it, buddy. We're consultants working with the HVPD, Em here was the one that asked for backup." He added a few choice words under his breath; that Eyebrows thing really pissed him off.

The officer snickered. "If that's true, why don't you guys have badges with you?"

Emil and Leon exchanged surprised glances. "We need badges to work as consultants for the HVPD?"

The officer was about to answer, when suddenly he was shoved to the side by another officer brandishing a gun towards his face. "We're you making friends, bastardo?" The curl above the angry officer's head bobbed up and down in a furious manner. "Answer my question, you bastard."

"N-no...? I mean, y-y-yes, Officer Lovino." The full blown snicker was wiped clean from his face, instead an expression of terror had replaced it.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, you dipshit," Lovino snarled. "Don't make friends when you're on the job, got it?" The officer nodded and scrambled away, muttering a small apology to the half amused-half shocked duo of consultants.

"Th-thanks, Lovino." Emil stuttered.

"Don't mention anything about this, got it, Fishbreath?" Lovino crossed his arms and sucked in his cheeks to stop himself from smiling.

Emil nodded. "Sure."

"Nice going there, Lovino. Didn't think that Italians could do more than running away." Leon smirked.

Instead of punching Leon in the jaw, the Italian just snickered. "I'm not your average Italian, Asian bastard. I'm-"

"Hola, mi amigos!" A Spanish officer wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist. "Ah, Lovi, mi querido! I finally found you!"

Lovino jumped and yelled angrily when the Spanish officer pulled on his curl with a happy-go-lucky smile upon his face. "Ch-chigi! Let go, you tomato fucker! I'm going to make you pay for that, bastardo!" His face was bright red, and he looked angrier than he was with the officer earlier.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "And who's this?"

Said tomato bastard let go of Lovino's waist and held his hand out, a wide grin gracing his tanned features. "Ah! I am Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, but you seem like good people, so just call me Toni! And who might you be, señor?"

The Asian outstretched his own hand and shook both. "Leon Wang, but call me Leon."

Lovino rolled his eyes and grabbed Antonio back. "Okay, it's been nice seeing you guys, blah, blah, blah. Come on, tomato jerk, before Liz beats our asses with her frying pan." He turned to Emil before he stomped out, giving the fair-haired the slightest crinkle of a smile. "I'll see you around, Mackerel Mouth."

Toni ruffled Emil's hair. "It was nice talking to you and your querido, Emil! Hasta luego, mi amigos!"

When the grumpy Italian and the hyperactive Spanish man (with the nice ass) had left, Leon and Emil decided to search around the house for Lukas and Mathias, wherever they were...whatever they may be doing.

"Ice, are you okay?" Leon didn't touch him, but the urge to hug him was strong.

"Y-yeah...Why do you ask?" Emil tried to keep his mind concentrated on finding his annoying brother and his stupid fiancé.

"I just wanted to make sure...after what happened in the other room."

"I'm alright. Lovino just scared me a little, that's all." Emil rubbed the back of his neck nonchalantly.

"You and I both know that's not what I meant. Are you really okay, Emil?"

"I'm fine," Emil snapped. "Let's just go find my brother and his fiancé."

Fortunately, they had the luck of an extra loud Danish man's voice on their side.

"AW, NO FAIR NORGE! WHY DID YOU BRING THE SWE OVER HERE?! HE'S NOT EVEN ON THE FORCE!" Mathias practically yelled at the top of his lungs.

Emil and Leon found the two in the front room, along with a tall, stoic, and rather intimidating man with glasses.

Berwald Oxenstierna. Husband to the Finnish Tino Väinämöinen, and president of Möbler, a furniture company known worldwide. Brother to Mathias Kohler (who had a similar situation to Emil and Lukas concerning surnames), and soon-to-be-brother-in-law to Lukas Bondevik.

"Hm? Em'l, wh't're you doin' h're?" Berwald asked, his syllables slurring together into an almost indistinguishable heap of words.

"I think that's a question I should be asking you, Ber." Emil gestured to Leon. "This is my, um...boyfriend, Leon Wang."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Oxenstierna. I hope Tino's doing well. Haven't been, like, working at the cafe lately, so I wouldn't know." Emil could tell that Leon was trying to keep his tone light, the frightening aura the Swe gave off was practically boring into his soul.

Berwald smiled then, an action that made the two flinch noticeably. "T'no's doin' j'st fine, th'nks f'r askin'."

Leon nodded his head and ran a hand through his hair as casually as he could before heading out the door, mumbling something about needing to get some fresh air.

"Um...do you want me to go with you?" Emil asked, a worried expression upon his face.

"No, it's fine. You can go, like, catch up with your family." Leon leaned forward to peck Emil's cheek, before suddenly remembering his punishment. "Ah, almost forgot about the no touching." Leon chuckled to himself.

Emil glowered. "Moron. You just broke that stupid rule of yours earlier!"

"Hm...?" Leon gave his lover a smile that only he could notice. "That was because I wanted to make sure you were okay; and if I recall, I'm pretty sure you were the one that latched yourself onto my shirt."

"Whatever," Emil huffed, "You'll be the one to give up this stupid game, not me."

Once Leon had closed the door behind him, Lukas chose to speak up. "So...Lillebror...what was all that about?" His expression was as apathetic as ever.

Emil's expression was grave. "I think you should see something. This Braginsky guy has been keeping tabs on us."

"The HVPD?" Mathias cut in, combing his fingers through his wild goldenrod hair.

"No...Us, as in, Lukas and I."

-linebreaklinebreakbonjourmonamihonhonhon-

"It's through this way." The Icelandic disappeared into the secret room and ushered the rest of his family in.

"I thought he was focused on Tino. Why is he keeping tabs on us?" Lukas' fists were clenched and stiff at his sides.

"Tino was just for his personal motive. Us, however...keeping tabs on us was where he was getting his flow of cash." Emil tried not to hold his gaze on the newspaper-covered walls for too long.

Lukas, however, was not forewarned about the papers and started sifting through one of the pinned pages. Quietly, Emil observed how many expressions on his face Lukas had shifted to. There was confusion at first...

...Then there was mild shock...

...Which shifted to pure rage...

...And finally calmed to absolute disgust.

Emil decided that he had seen the most emotion Lukas had displayed in his life. Ever.

"Who...would do such a disgusting thing like this?" Lukas flipped through more articles on the wall. "All of these disturbing articles filled with information about us... What kind of sick joke is this...?"

Neither of the men from Mathias' side of the family spoke up. They were far too shocked, still processing the fact that Lukas; the most apathetic, stone-faced person they knew, had just changed through several emotions in one go as if he had used all of said emotions his whole life.

"Our bank account info is posted up here...How did this guy even find this stuff?" Lukas sifted through the letters on the desk. "Who is this Daan person? What does he want with us?"

Emil also decided that this was the most Lukas had spoken in one sitting.

"Emil...what's going on here?" Lukas managed to maintain his apathetic composure, though his voice told otherwise.

"This guy connected with our case...He was also hired by the people that killed Ma and Pa to track us." Emil stared at the ground. "Those records of our bank accounts...I think they want money, Lukas."

"Money...? What for? I've never seen this guy in my life before a couple days ago."

"Our parents were involved with this gang, Lukas. The Vrede en Liefde. Look at the letters again, Lukas. It says everything there."

Lukas read the letters with little enthusiasm. "Daan; I'm leaving this letter to you because I am leaving the Vrede en Liefde. Alexander and I... do not want our...child to grow up in a dangerous environment, and I want our children to be raised with better opportunities than we have." Lukas mumbled the rest of the letter under his breath. "However...I am hoping that you will be able to give us money, the last loan we will ask of you. This is for the benefit of our child, please understand. Ingrid Bondevik." Lukas placed the letter down stiffly. "Mor...and Far...were involved with these people...people that kill others for selfish greed...They were involved with them..." His hair covered his eyes darkly, and suddenly the air around them felt right with tension. "...They...killed people...I bet...All the money that came in..."

"That was just from the loans they received from other people, stóri bróðir. Th-they didn't kill and steal from people. They wouldn't." Emil placed a reassuring hand on Lukas' shoulder.

Lukas pulled away abruptly, ice cold eyes staring down surprised violet ones. "How do you know, lillebror? Family intuition?" He looked away bitterly. "Stop kidding yourself, bror. They never paid back what they owed in their loans when they left that stupid mafia, yet back then, they had riches upon riches of money to support us. Now we have to pay off the mountain of cash they failed to pay."

"Nor, it's not your parents' fault. They were helping raise you with the money they had." Mathias caressed the Norwegian's cheek gently.

Lukas batted his hand away. "You mean the money they were given, and expected to pay back. I can't believe they held a secret from us like this, why are we even working at the hand of the law when our own bloodline is tainted with criminals?"

"But Nor, you're not like them. Isn't that all what matters?"

"Stupid Dane; I'm a police officer with criminal blood in me. What runs in my veins are the sins that my own parents have committed. How do I know I won't kill someone in the future? How do I know I won't kill someone I love? How do I know-"

"You're not going to kill anyone, Norge."

"HOW DO I KNOW I'M NOT GOING TO KILL YOU?! OR BERWALD?! OR EMIL?!" Lukas shouted, hot tears flowing down his cheeks. "The future isn't set in stone, Anko."

The whole room became silent, the faded echoes of Lukas' rare yell cutting through the walls like swords.

Lukas held his face in his hands. "For years, I've known that something strange was going on. Our parents couldn't have just gotten murdered out of the blue for no reason. I had to raise my little brother on my own! Now that I know the truth, I feel like they've lied to me every waking moment! I thought I was safe with them as a child! I thought we were safe! But I was wrong, I was so wrong."

"Lukas, it's not their-"

"I can't just forgive them...they forced Emil and I to live on our own...because of a fucking loan that they couldn't pay off..." His voice shattered as he trailed off, and the running river of hot tears continued.

"Nor..." Mathias pulled him close so that Lukas' face was nestled in the Dane's firm chest.

"...Don't touch me." But despite his words, Lukas sobbed harder into the Danish man's shirt, clenching his pale hands into the thick fabric of his uniform.

"Shh...it's okay, Lukas. It's okay..." Mathias stroked the latter's back soothingly, whispering soft nothings into the Norwegian's corn silk hair.

"And the worst part is," Lukas' hoarse voice was muffled from Mathias' shirt, "now we're expected to pay off what they owe."

"But you're not alone in this, Luke. You have me and Swe and Em to help. You both have all of us. You'll be able to pay off the money with all of our help." Strong hands held the latter closer to him. "So don't feel burdened to do everything, ja?"

"...Stupid idiot...when did you get smart?" Lukas rested his head on the Dane's shoulder, his face wiped clean of the rage he was feeling just moments ago. "...You're right, though." He turned to look at Emil. "Lillebror, I'm truly sorry for snapping at you." Lukas wound his arms around Emil and squeezed his hold on him as tight as he could.

"It's...okay...Luke...WOULD YOU LET GO OF ME?!" Emil struggled against his brother's grip until he let go. "I'm going outside to get Leon."

"Y'ng love..." Ber mumbled. "...it's a beaut'ful th'ng..."

"Gee, Ber, when did you start getting all sentimental?" Mathias joked, holding Lukas to him again.

"I've alw'ys been, when did you bec'me s'ch an idi't?" Berwald's eyes narrowed through the rectangular flash of his glasses.

"He's always been an idiot, Sve." Lukas let his lips curve into the slightest fraction of a smile.

-linebreaklinebreakEmilruntoyourboyfriend-

"Where'd you go?" Leon inquired curiously. Both boys were sitting on the front porch, the cold wind brushing back hair lightly.

"Back to the secret room. Wanted to show Lukas and he blew up and looked like he was going to burn the place down."

"Oh."

Silence lulled over the two, neither boys daring to speak up. Eyes searched the the main road, trying to seek out a platinum blonde baby-faced Russian.

"Do you remember...asking me about why I was so obsessed about finding Ivan...?"

"...Yeah?" Leon eyed Emil, a sort of sparkle in his amber orbs.

"Well..do you...um...want to know?"

Leon said nothing for a while, processing what his lover had just offered. "...You must really want to touch me, Ice."

"Wh-what?! No I don't! You said you wanted to know about why I'm going kooky-"

"Kooky?"

"Yes, kooky! You said you wanted to know why I was so obsessed over Ivan so now I'm asking if you wanted to know because you're so-"

"Honestly, Ice, don't kid yourself. You, like, definitely want some of this." Leon smirked.

"GODDAMN ANNOYING!" Emil snarled, and Leon burst out laughing.

"Y-you're so, pfftt, so cute." He held his stomach, doubling over in fits of quiet giggles and snorts, mumbling phrases of "so cute" and "Oh my God, Em" in between his gasps of air.

"Okay, you can, like, tell me the story of your kookiness now." Leon's lips were forced back down into an apathetic line.

Emil frowned and crossed his arms angrily. "Forget it! I'm not telling you. You're too annoying, stupid oaf." Holy crap, I sound like Lukas.

"Aw, c'mon, Ice." Leon gave him a crooked smile. "I'm just playing with you."

Emil desperately tried to push down the redness that was quickly spreading to his face. "St-stop smiling. You're being annoying."

Instead of going back to his previous apathetic expression, Leon just smiled wider. "I love you, you know that?"

"Hn..." Emil groaned, clutching at his blushing face. "Stop being an idiot."

"Are you going to tell me? Or are you going to keep arguing with me?" Leon stuck his tongue out playfully, a small glint in his eye.

"No! It's uncomfortable now!" Emil fidgeted with his coat pockets.

"C'mon, Ice. Just tell me."

"No!"

"Get it over with."

"Shut up! I'm not telling!"

"I'm going to keep annoying you~."

"Don't care."

"Ice, baby, please...?" Leon jutted his bottom lip out in a small pout, shielding his face with his long brown bangs. "Don't you love me...?"

Emil sighed and leaned into the porch railing. "Fine...but for the record, you're the second most annoyingly stupid person on this earth."

"Second most...? Who beat me to first?"

"Mathias did. Now shut up and listen." Not hearing any joking remarks from his significant other, Emil took a deep breath. "I wasn't sure of why I was so caught onto looking for Ivan before. All I knew was that he had information that I wanted when he escaped. Now that I look back on my past, now that I understand my parents' deaths, I want to find Ivan so I can find these people that he's working with. I want justice, Leon."

Silence.

His Asian counterpart simply smiled a true, genuine smile. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it, Em?" Leon's grin twisted into a smirk. "And plus, your punishment is over too, so feel free to passionately show how in love you are with me."

Emil rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"You wound me!" Leon chuckled quietly before setting soft eyes upon the Icelandic. "But seriously, Emil...thank you for telling me. And as for justice..." He planted a small kiss on Emil's forehead. "You'll get it."

"Th-thanks..." Emil mumbled before returning his gaze to the road below him.

Suddenly, a silver pick up truck pulled up onto the driveway, the driver appearing irritated. Baby-faced; platinum blonde hair; and the obvious owner of the house.

"Ivan Braginsky..." Leon muttered quietly before hopping down from the porch. "Ivan Braginsky, you're under arrest for escaping police custody. Put your hands in the air."

"What the hell?! What are you doing here on my property? Do you even have a warrant with you to search my house?" Ivan was obviously not in the mood for small talk.

"Sir, I said, put your hands in the air."

"I will do no such thing. You ransacked my house without a warrant!"

Emil decided to pipe in. "We have police backup, Ivan."

The assassin froze, his usually pale face reddening in anger ever so slightly. "You...I suppose you figured out what I was hiding in the room?"

"Not just us, Braginsky. Lukas and his fiancé found out as well. And let me just say, they are not happy." Emil resisted the urge to smirk.

"I should've disposed of you when I had the chance." Braginsky growled low in his throat before lunging at Emil like a lion catching its prey.

Emil braced himself for impact. I can take on a fistfight, Emil thought to himself for a moment. This isn't as bad as a gunfight, it's just using hands and feet to one up the opponent. I can do this...Maybe after I mess up Braginsky's face Mr. Puffin won't make fun of my weak limbs anymore.

There was a ribbon of brown and gold that flashed through the corner of his eye one moment, then a small grunt the next. Standing in front of him was not an angry Russian with his fist about to slug through his cheekbones, but his Asian lover that had just taken a punch to the lip.

"Leon...? Leon...YOU MORON! I CAN HANDLE A FISTFIGHT JUST FINE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

"I'll take that as a thank you," Leon spat out the blood from his lips that managed to slip into his mouth. "You're welcome, Ice."

"Goddamn idiot..." Emil sighed and pulled out his cellphone.

"Hei," Lukas answered through the static. "What is it that you want?"

"You need to come here and bring out the handcuffs. Braginsky is here." Emil hung up at that and went back into the house to notify the captain.

Meanwhile, things between the Asian and Russian had grown quite intense, the Russian seeming to have pulled out a plumbing pipe out of thin air and now using it to clobber the latter. Leon, despite the metal against his limbs, was blocking the blows effortlessly, sporting a black eye and the earlier-obtained split lip.

"Good thing you didn't knock away any of my teeth. But you did ruin my expert kissing lips." Leon tried to smirk through his busted lip, reopening the clotting wound.

"That is no such crime as the one that prevailed in my own house." Ivan swung his pipe again, striking Leon's right shoulder blade and slamming the metal edge against Leon's collarbone with enough pressure to fracture.

Leon grunted and wrinkled his nose up in pain. "It's just a house! You ruined my face!" And my arm, Leon duly noted. He grit his teeth roughly, desperately trying to push back the feeling of sharp shooting pain to the very minor parts of his thoughts.

"And I have no regrets about it." The Russian smiled darkly. "For you have ruined something I care about as well."

"What? The house? We all know you really care about the money that goes with the information you gathered."

Ivan ignored the Asian's words and lunged at Leon once more. "And after I finish you off, I'll go for the person you care about the most."

Leon froze suddenly, and was slugged in the gut with Ivan's pipe. A shot of bile jumped up his throat, mixed in with the blood that was swimming in his mouth. "Hnghh..." The world spun around him, and he swallowed thickly. "...Just...Just like you did with Toris' person?" Rage flickered in his golden eyes. "I won't allow that...to happen again. When...you get arrested, we'll make...sure to put you on the charges of...third degree...murder." Leon pushed away Ivan's heavy body with a sidekick to the chest.

Ivan growled a Russian swear under his breath and wrapped his hands around Leon's throat. The Asian's eyes were on the verge of rolling back, but Leon quickly took out the string of firecrackers from his shirt and wrapped the flammable string around Ivan's wrists as tight as he could before twisting his wrists around and pushing back his hands. The thread dug into Ivan's flesh, causing him to flinch back a little. Using this as a distraction, Leon moved to the back of Ivan and pulled the Russian's hands all the way back until they were against the small of his back. The Asian kicked Ivan's knees forward.

"Never underestimate an Asian waitress."

Just in time, Lukas and Mathias, along with Berwald and a bunch of other officers ran to the scene, and the Norwegian replaced the tightly wound string of firecrackers around the Russian's wrists with handcuffs.

"C'mon buddy. You're not going to get away again this time." Mathias pushed Ivan into the police car and slammed the door shut. "Nice work, Leon!" He clapped his large hand on the shoulder that Ivan had whacked good with his pipe.

Leon winced, but covered it up with a small laugh. "Yeah, thanks. Where's Ice?"

As if on cue, the Icelander ran in with the captain by his side, and he looked awfully peeved by the expression Elizaveta was giving him. However, when Emil's gaze met Leon's battered, but breathing, body, all of the oxygen left his body.

"Leon..." Emil jumped off the porch and stopped in front of Leon. The Asian was quickly met with a hard slap to the face. "You idiot." He tried to keep his time as apathetic as his brother's.

"You were worried." Leon deciphered from the furious hand to the face he just received.

"I wasn't. I know you can handle yourself just fine." Emil glared at Leon angrily. "I was just...still upset from your annoying display of annoying behavior that was...that was, uh, annoying."

The Asian simply smiled one of those genuine smiles that were solely reserved for him and him alone. "Come here."

Emil froze in place. "What? But..." He scanned his eyes over every inch of Leon. Green and black bruises marred the skin on his shoulder blade; his collar bone bent in. The skin around one of Leon's mesmerizing gold eyes was puffy and turning a grotesque purplish brown, and the eyelid was almost all the way closed. "...You're hurt. I don't want to put any pressure on them."

"I'll be fine," Leon insisted, and pulled the Icelander closer, wrapping his arms around the other's waist. "But don't put, like, any pressure on my shoulder."

"This shoulder?" Emil asked, placing a gentle hand on Leon's right shoulder, causing the other to flinch noticeably. "Oh...sorry." He noticed blood oozing out of the cut on the other's lip, and wiped it away with the handkerchief he held in his coat pocket.

"You carry around a handkerchief?" Leon smirked. "That reminds me of the ol' Englishman that I nearly blew up."

Emil rolled his eyes. "You blew up his house; you should be thanking your lucky stars that you didn't blow him up." He lowered his head, brushing his lips against the hollow of Leon's cheek. "Now let's take you to the hospital and get you fixed up."

-linebreaklinebreakIvaninterrogationuhoh-

Lukas decided to take the reins as an interrogator for the rest of the day since Emil had decided to stay at Leon's side in the hospital after his collarbone was snapped back in and his minor injuries were fixed up.

Mathias, of course, watched from behind the window, his job, as assigned by the captain, was to make sure Lukas "didn't brutally murder the guy that injured half of my OTP."

"I bet you have a plan on how to escape jail this time, don't you Ivan?" Lukas' eyes flashed darkly, and a small smile formed into his lips. "I bet you want to get out so you can report to your boss about the photos and information you have on us to get your pay, don't you?"

Ivan glared. "I don't have a boss."

The Norwegian laughed, the chilling nature of it almost scaring the hell out of Mathias. "Is that right? That's...That's just...

...A lie." Lukas stood up from his chair and paced around slowly, as if he was a predator circling around his next meal.

"I saw everything, Ivan. The information on the walls, the letters on the desk. Leon told me all about those photos you took. In fact, I have them right here." He threw the manilla envelope down onto the table, and it landed with a hard smack on the surface, spilling out all the contents.

"These, I admit, are photos that were in my house. But, I did not take these." Ivan crossed his arms defiantly.

"Oh? I know about that too, Braginsky. It wasn't you who took those photos, it was your little workers. Right before you came in for questioning, your 'disloyal' minion, Toris Laurinaitis, came in. Once he saw those photos, he confessed to those too. Of course, I know your motive behind all this. But it's not you I wanted to know about, God no. I want to know about the gang you work for."

"What...?"

"The Vrede en Liefde. Unless you want to face the full extent of the third degree murder charge for all those men you killed, I suggest you give me some information."

-linebreaklinebreakhonhonhonhonhonhon-

-In the Prison-

Toris was scared out of his mind. He truly, truly was scared. He was in a prison, there were scary convicts grumbling about officers and cursing up storms worse than sailors, and to make matters worse, there was a Russian upstairs that pretty much wanted to skin him alive while laughing at the innards pouring out of his body.

"Oh G-God..." He shivered involuntarily. "...I really wish I could get out of here."

The only thing that made his prison days bearable were the times he was able to imagine Feliks right by his side, pink-loving, pony-obsessed Feliks. Of course he couldn't be here though. He was...He was gone. Erased from all existence except for that of Toris' heart. Feliks...he could imagine him right here, sitting next to him, leaning his head on his shoulder and telling him to man up because he was being such a baby. He could imagine the Polish boy bragging in his valley-girl accent about how he could, like, totally survive the prison thug life, but complaining about how the prison garb just absolutely had to change to pink coloring.

"Hey." There was a knock on his cell, and the iron gate was slid open. "You were bailed out. Come with me, kid."

The officer had wild blonde hair, and there was a heavy Danish accent in his voice. He kind of scares me, Toris decided.

They boarded an elevator which took them onto the ground level floor. "So...you got anyone at home you looking forward to seeing?" The Danish man smiled brightly.

Toris laughed nervously. "Well, I...uh...Don't really know. I have two cats, I guess I'll look forward to seeing them."

"Well, anything's better than being alone, ja?" The Dane grinned even wider.

"Yeah," Toris tried to smile at that. It's too bad I'm already alone...what difference does two cats make?

"I've got a fiancé that works here, in fact, so does his brother." The elevator doors opened, and the Danish officer guided him to the front entrance. "Just wait here, kid. There's some paperwork you need to fill out, and sign here and here." He gestured to several signature blanks on the books of paper he received. "By the way, my name's Mathias."

"Toris," the Lithuanian replied. "I'll just...fill out these papers now." Mathias nodded and left him some peace.

Have you been apprehended by the police before? If so, name which police stations you have been arrested by in the blank below.

Hetalia Ville Police Station

What crime(s) were you accused of committing?

Stealing, Attempt at Kidnapping.

Toris sighed and scribbled down the next few pages of answers. "I have a feeling I know who bailed me out..."

Ivan is going to hurt me again. Now that Feliks is gone, he's going to make sure I learn my lesson...whatever that lesson is.

"Toris? Is that you?"

The Lithuanian looked up from the paperwork he was busy finishing and met his eyes to the direction of the seemingly familiar voice; his eyes widened to the size of golf balls.

"...Is this a dream...?" Because there was Feliks, dressed in a hot pink sweater with tiny yarn ponies sewn about, standing in front of him. There were no wounds, no scars. It was Feliks.

"N...No, you idiot! It's me, Liet! I'm the one who, like, bailed you out!" Toris didn't say anything, instead he just continued to gape at the Pole. "Hello? Liet? I'm, like, right in front of you~! Liet!" Feliks waved his hand in front of the Lithuanian's face in an effort to wake him up. He continued to yell out the nickname he gave to the Lithuanian, pouting ever so slightly when the other continued to stare.

He's...in front of me? Is that...really him? The gears in Toris' mind started to focus and turn, and he captured Feliks into his arms. "You...y-you really are r-real..."

Feliks smiled. "Well, duh!"

"I thought you had died..." Toris held the latter closer to him. "I saw the bag...you and Raivis' mother..."

Feliks pulled back and held Toris' face with his hands. "I was nearly dead, I know that. I remember when that evil Russian, like, totally broke all my fingers and did all that bad stuff...but...after he dumped me and that boy's matka out...everything was, like, kind of fuzzy from there. But I, like, woke up everyday knowing that you thought I was gone. I worked, like, really hard, trying to earn enough money to get you back. I knew that the Russian guy would, like, totally consider letting you off if I paid enough money. Liet..." Fat tears started roll down his cheeks. "...Did I make it in time...?"

Toris kissed the tears from his Pole's cheeks. "Yes, yes. Your timing was perfect, Feliks. It was perfect. Thank you, thank you." He kissed his lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Said his most important person in the world. "By the way, how would you feel if I told you I, like, painted your room pink?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And time to cry in a hole. Poor Toris baby, I love him to pieces. Hope you all enjoyed!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guy! So this is the last chapter of HVPD. There will be a more detalied A/N at the bottom for more information, so please read that!
> 
> Warning! This chapter contains mild violence and some intense scenes. Lots of angst and fluff. Please make sure you have the following with you before you decide to continue:
> 
> Box(es) of Tissues
> 
> Snacks (preferably ice cream or hot soup)
> 
> A pillow
> 
> Soundproof walls *optional*
> 
> Thank you, once again!
> 
> -kawaiijilli and KiPanda Cutie

-One Week Later-

~At the Hospital~

Leon could swear he saw Emil's lips curve into a smile as soon as they heard from the captain that Ivan was facing justice. An address of the Vrede en Liefde's next whereabouts had also been emailed from Lukas.

Be cautious, lillebror. Ivan said that this gang changes its hideouts often. This is the most recent address, but it's in a dangerous part of town. Apparently they are there to collect some supplies from an old drug dealer friend. The address is attached to this email.

Be safe,

Lukas.

P.S. Tell the captain about this. She's still confused. She's been busy writing fanfiction about you and Leon since last week.

Emil shut his phone off and sighed. "Captain Hédevéry is driving me insane..."

Leon, who had been sleeping, drowsily wrapped an IV-filled arm around him. "Morning," he yawned. "What about the Captain am I hearing about...?"

"Góðan daginn," Emil swept his lips upon Leon's thick brows and stroked his fingers into his dark hair. "How are you feeling?"

Leon groaned. "Better, I guess. My lips feel a little sore but my collar bone feels better."

"That's good to hear. As for your lip, the stitches the doctor sewed into them a couple days ago seem to have disappeared."

"So now that it's all better, are you going to give me a good morning kiss?" Leon smirked, and he sat up slowly. "If you do you'll make it feel even better~."

Emil rolled his eyes and silenced the rest of his lover's stupid remarks with a chaste kiss to his lips. "I have to get to work. I'll see you in a bit?"

"Aw, but Ice, can't I go with you?"

"Absolutely not. You haven't been released from the hospital yet."

As if on cue, Leon's assigned doctor came waltzing in, clutching a clipboard as well as pasting a small smile on his face. "I'm here to check up on the healing process of Mr. Wang's injuries."

The doctor carefully observed the recently healed skin on Leon's lip and his newly arranged collarbone. "I have great news! Seeing as the surgery was a success, and the stitches on his lip have been healed over, Mr. Wang can be discharged out of the hospital and can go back to his regular working routine. I just need him to sign some paperwork at the front desk and you both can be on your way!"

"What was that about not being released out of the hospital yet, Emmy?" Leon smirked as the doctor detached the IV tubes from his arms.

"Shut up."

~Later at the Police Station~

"You know that going on a mission for personal benefit is forbidden," Elizaveta frowned.

"But we have evidence, and it's also related to the case we just solved!" Emil cried out, exasperated. Explaining things to the Captain was harder than he had thought it to be.

"There are a plethora of more cases to be looked into," the Hungarian started, "and frankly, it seems that we don't have enough men that aren't occupied to send a force in with you."

"Then don't," Leon cut in. "We can take care of this ourselves. Besides, I'm sure Mathias and Lukas would be willing to take care of the other assignments that need to be taken care of."

"But it's dangerous! I wouldn't be able to stand it if two of the workers I'm particularly fond about in the force got hurt."

Emil sighed. "We aren't in the police force, we're just working as consultants for the HVPD."

"Which is exactly why I don't want to send you two boys out there! You, Emil, have experience out there as a police officer. You can defend yourself somewhat. The place you want to go to is a dangerous neighborhood; all the officers here loathe it, especially me. However, your lover here doesn't have any experience in the field, so of course he doesn't know how to defend himself."

"I know kung fu and my cousin is, like, teaching me Tae Kwon Do." Leon pointed out blankly. "And I can blow stuff up with firecrackers."

Elizaveta's frown grew deeper. "Well, it's still dangerous! You're already hurt-"

"-But I'm healed."

The Captain groaned and rubbed at her forehead warily. "Fine, I give. You two can go on a stakeout, then. Nothing more. There will be no kicking down doors and arresting. Not when you both are the only ones there. You two are to confirm if the gang's next location is correct or not, then you guys will leave without getting caught. That is my final decision."

Emil and Leon exchanged contemplating looks before turning back to their Captain. "We'll do it."

-linebreaklinebreakdokidokiaisurando-

"This place really is like one of those bad neighborhoods in the Jackie Chan films I watch..." Leon kicked away a broken beer bottle with the side of his foot.

"Shh! What do you think you're doing, idiot?!" Emil pulled them down behind a large SUV. "Stop being so loud or we'll get caught!"

"Cool it, Ice; they're not going to catch us. And even if they did, I would've-"

"Shh! They're here, they're here!" Emil eyed a vintage black Mercedes pulling into the closest alleyway near the hideout location. This really is dangerous. What if we never make it back...?

Two men stepped out, both bearing blonde hair, though one man's hair was styled up into flamboyantly high spikes while the other man's hair pooled at his shoulders in an extremely stylish fashion. They look pretty intimidating...

"Stay here near the car. I'll unload the pot." Spiky Guy gruffly mumbled.

"Oui. I'll notify the others of where we are so they can join us."

Emil sucked in his breath quietly. "That's them..." We both need to make it out of here. Alive.

"Do we have a name reading on them?" Leon asked, peeking his head just above the bumper of the SUV.

"Francis Bonnefoy is the guy with the long hair, and Daan is the guy with the spiky hair."

Leon leaned back against the passenger door. "Okay, well, we have the information we need now. I guess that means we should be heading back."

"Hell no!" Emil hissed. "I'm going to find out what exactly they're looking for, then we'll go back!" But what if I don't make it out alive?

"Wha-?! But Em, the Captain told us that-"

"I know what she said. But I'm too far in to hold back now." This was far too bold for a boy like Emil to say.

"I don't like this, Em."

Emil sighed. "I didn't want to do this, but..." He scooted closer to his lover, placing a hand on his chest. "Please...Hong. Let's stay here for awhile." He practically crooned the underused nickname as he brushed his nose upon the other's in an effort to persuade him.

Leon's heartbeat started to quicken upon hearing his nickname, and a hot flush rose to his face. "This isn't a good idea, Ice." Dammit, that's hot.

"...Hong...please..." Emil's face had flushed reasonably, embarrassed at his own actions, but too stubborn to quit.

It took all of his strength to resist. "No, Ice. We're going back to the station, let's go." Leon tugged at Emil's sleeve and attempted to crawl his way back to the car, but the latter stopped him and slapped his hand away, giving up on his efforts.

"No. You can go home or go back to headquarters. I'm not going to just give up right here."

Leon wrinkled his eyebrows in frustration. "Ice, it's dangerous here. You could get hurt."

"I have a gun."

"Do you know how to use it?"

Emil glared. "Of course I do! I was trained to use one, dumbass!"

Leon furrowed his eyebrows deeper. "I don't trust you. I'm staying."

Emil pushed at Leon's arms. "I don't need a protector; especially when that protector is you! I can handle myself just fine!"

"Nuh-uh, I don't think so. I'm staying." Leon proved his point further as he made himself comfortable on the ground. "Besides, maybe we can get some more juicy details about this little gang they have."

Thus ensued their eavesdropping on the two most dangerous members of the Vrede en Liefde.

"I've finished unloading," Daan stalked back to the car. "We need to unpack the fish now. Did you tell the others?"

Francis nodded. "Oui. They brought some dealers with them. They will be on their way to buy from us later. And, remind me again; why do we need the fish?"

"Second profit. Cash is king, after all." Daan grunted as he hauled a crate of fish over his shoulder.

"I understand that, monsieur. But how are we going to make much money off of, well, fish?"

The Dutch man scowled. "You will not put your nose in places where it shouldn't be. The process is top secret." Pickle the fish with salt...that will give me more money.

Francis trembled slightly in fear. "I-I see..." Damn, after all my years of working with him, he still scares the merde ((shit)) out of me. "I will finish unloading the rest of the fish. You can, ah, do whatever you need to do to get the fish ready." Daan gave a small grunt in approval and left.

As they continued to unload boxes of fish, one out of the two boys behind the nearby SUV were busy reporting their findings to the Captain.

"Mmhm, mmhm...Yeah, we found them." Leon mumbled through the phone quietly. "No, we aren't going back now."

"Shh! They'll hear us! For God's sake hush it a little, Leon!" Emil whispered furiously.

"Yes, yes, he's still here with me. We're going to find more information."

"Leon, if you don't quiet down this instant, I swear, I'll-" Emil yelled threateningly in a whisper.

"Hush it a bit, Em. I'm trying to report to the Captain." Leon murmured, his voice getting louder by the second. "Yeah, you can send back up whenever you'd like. Em wants to listen in a little more."

Emil yanked the phone from Leon's long fingers and shoved it up to his ear. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Captain, but if we make any obvious noise we'll get caught and I don't want that to happen, so goodbye!" He nearly pushed his finger through the cellphone in an effort to shut it down.

"You didn't have to act so rash, Ice. She and I were just finishing up the call."

The Icelander grabbed his lover by the shirt collar. "I don't think you understand how imperative it is that we stay quiet!" He nearly shouted.

"I wasn't being too loud, and besides, you're the one who was being too loud." Leon shot back, his gaze staring down at Emil's challengingly.

"Oh, really? I believe that you were the one that was kicking a can all the way here, and basically shouting information over the phone!" Emil argued, his focus only on the Asian idiot in front of him.

"And I thought you said we should be quiet, but here you are, making as much noise as you want."

"I am not!"

"Shhh, Ice."

"Don't 'shhh' me!"

But Leon ignored Emil's refute, clamping his hand over the other's mouth. "Shut up...I think someone's coming."

The quiet sound of designer dress shoes clapping against the rough road grew closer. "Qui est là? ((Who is there?))" The Frenchman asked, maneuvering himself around the car slowly.

Leon quickly slipped both himself and Emil under the SUV, slinking as far back as he could to the sidewalk. He could feel Emil's erratic breathing on the palm of his hand and he tried to soothe him by lacing his free hand with the latter's, and rubbed circles around the back of his hand with his thumb. He could feel Emil's poor Icelandic heart racing, being able to feel the beat on his thumbpad.

"Ice baby, you have to calm down a little, okay? If you keep breathing this quickly, that guy is going to find us." Leon whispered in Emil's ear quietly, and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Just calm down..." Emil's breathing slowed to an easy pace, and Leon pressed his lips to the latter's head.

When the Frenchman's shoes had disappeared from their view, Leon uncovered his hand from Emil's mouth.

The Asian let out a breath he had been keeping in since he had been under the car. "Okay, I think he's gone. Let's g-"

Emil held the both of them in place. "There's been a question that's been nagging at my mind since we've gotten here."

"Okay, what is it?" Leon propped himself on his elbows just enough so his head was touching the bottom of the car.

"What if...what if we do get caught? What if we don't make it out of here?"

"We won't get caught. And we will make it."

"How can you just say that so easily, though?" Emil frowned. "There's always that slim chance that we're going to be in serious danger."

"We aren't, though."

The Icelander's frown deepened. "...I don't get you."

"But you love me anyway."

"Whatever. How can you just not think about the possible outcomes in this situation?"

Leon laid back down onto the pavement. "If you're so set on these horrible consequences, why did you resist me telling you to go back to headquarters when you had the chance?"

"Well, I was thinking about this before that too." Emil twisted his fingers around his lacy bow tie timidly.

"Then...why did you agree to this stakeout anyway? We could've asked Lukas and Mathias to help you out or something at a later date."

"I don't know! What if they move to a different hideout or something? This is the only chance we get at justice, and I don't want to back down."

Leon gripped Emil's arms tightly. "Listen, Ice. We'll find them either way. Let's just go back to headquarters so we can get backup with us next time. You'll get your justice, I know it."

Emil narrowed his eyes at first, then rolled his back down from Leon's firm stomach onto the pavement. "Fine. But, before we leave...Tell me something." When Leon had given him his full undivided attention, he took a deep breath. "What would you do if I didn't make it? What if those guys killed one of us?" Emil was reminded of that time so long ago, when his parents had been murdered right before his very own young eyes.

Leon affixed his gaze to purple orbs with his soft amber ones, then squeezed his hand morosely. "I don't know, Ice. I can't imagine that because you're still living, right in front of me."

"Just try imagine it, then. What would you do?"

"Hm...Well if you had been killed by those guys, I guess I'd kneel down to your dying body, I'd lift it into my arms, and I'd hold you for one last time." Leon gazed wistfully into the distance. "I would shower you with kisses, even if you couldn't feel them, and I'd make sure you weren't dirty or anything, then I would lie you down again...and bow to you three times."

Emil gave him a scrutinizing look. "Bow to me? I'm your boyfriend, not the king of the world."

Leon chuckled. "Actually, in my culture, when someone is deceased, we bow three times to them to show respect to them." His eyes took on the same wistful look as before."After I'd do that, I imagine I'd be so painfully heartbroken that I'd fall to my knees like one of Yong Soo's K-dramas and yell, "It should've been me!" Or something like that," he smirked.

"Stop joking. Life isn't a television show," Emil frowned.

"It is to me. So tell me, what would you do if I died?"

"Well...If you were the one dying, I would have told you how much you meant to me, even if you can't hear me. I would've told you, 'Ég elska þig,' and I would just hold you there, in my arms until nightfall. Then I'd take you back to the station, where I would call up your family, and we would mourn together."

Leon was silent for a moment as he drank in all of his Icelander's words. "...I...Em..." The surprise that had flashed upon his face quickly wiped itself away; instead a small smirk took its place. "What does 'Ég elska þig' mean?"

"It means 'I love you' in Icelandic." Emil fought the colour in his cheeks down.

Leon smiled. "How sweet of you, Ice. I would tell you what 'I love you' is in Cantonese, but writing it out is better. Wait-I have an idea.." He took out his cellphone and tapped his finger on a drawing app. "Here, give me your hand, Ice."

"HetaScribble? Are we in preschool, Leon?"

"Just give me your hand, Em." The latter did so reluctantly.

Leon slowly dragged Emil's index finger across the small screen, forming a series of intricate characters with each swipe.

"This is I. Ngóh." 我

"This character is Love. Ngoi." 愛

"This is weird, Leon." Emil stammered, his heart racing.

"And the last character means You. Néi." 你 "Got it?"

"I...I can't possibly remember all of those strokes! They're too complex!"

"You're just being doubtful of yourself, Em. If you really love someone, the characters should come naturally to you."

"You're a really hopeless romantic, aren't you?" Emil asked, covering up the small smile that had crept its way up his lips.

"Only when I'm with you, babe." Leon slid out from under the car, and helped Emil to his feet. "Let's go. I say we go back to headquarters and then get something to eat. How does that sound?"

Emil nodded. "Fine by me, as long as it's not fast food or anything too fancy."

"How's my place then? Kiku is bringing his Greek boyfriend over, so you can meet him." Leon's eyes seemed to shine excitedly as soon as he mentioned his Japanese half-brother's name. Must've cleared everything up with Kiku, then. That's good, Emil thought to himself.

But all of Emil's thoughts blanked as soon as what the Asian said sunk into his brain for processing. "Wait...you want me to share a meal...at your place?"

"What? You've done it before, haven't you?"

"Y-yes, but Im Yong Soo will be there..." And from the events that had occurred quite a while ago, Emil didn't want to be anywhere near the Korean chest-claimer.

Leon ruffled the latter's platinum locks with a small smile. "That's okay. When I bring you over and he finds out we're a solid item, he won't bother you anymore. That, or he'll bother you less."

"Wow, that reassured me tons, Leon."

"Hey, you! Who are you guys?!" A voice shouted from behind them.

Emil and Leon froze in place and turned around slowly. The guy looked quite shady, as there were glasses covering his eyes and his hair was swept over in a grand mohawk-pompadour. ((A/N: This is Molossia. We've seen him before in Chapter 3 when Emil has a flashback.)) He was holding a small suitcase of something, most likely drugs, and Emil had to choke back a squeak of surprise.

"I know him..." Emil whispered. "Lovino and I apprehended him on the day I got jumped by those two guys from the Vrede en Liefde. He must've been bailed out or escaped."

"Ay! I was talking to you, boys. Who are you?!" The guy with the shades asked a little more forcefully this time.

Leon took a deep breath and held Emil back in a protective stance. "Sorry, sir. We were just looking around town...when we ran into this place unintentionally. We were just trying to look for a place to eat, that's all."

"Maybe you should consider eating at our lovely joint, mon petits." A sly voice muttered very close to his ear.

"Wha-?!" Leon turned around quickly, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw the tall Dutchman holding Emil's arms down and pushing a cloth (most likely infused with drugs to pass one out) to his nose and mouth. "Ice!"

But before he could do anything, something hard and heavy crashed into his forehead, and Leon was out cold.

-linebreaklinebreakdokipausedokipausebeep-

Ah...Where...am I...?

Damn, my head hurts...

Where's Emil?!

The world was fuzzy and spinning as soon as Leon's eyes blinked open. It smelled nastily of drugs and alcohol, and surprisingly like quality French food. And fish. Leon's head and eyes adjusted slowly, and when his vision had cleared, he realized he was in some kind of abandoned store.

He also noticed that his hands and legs were tied up in a series of small and inescapable knots. The ground was cold, but surprisingly not covered with grime. Whoever took him to this place did a really good job of cleaning it up.

Leon explored as much of the area as he could with his eyes. There were booths that ran along the side of the room, and a large counter in the middle of the room, in which he was resting his back against. To his left, there was a small platinum haired boy, still apparently dozing from the drugs, his arms and legs tied up the same way as Leon's. He looked pale, more so than he usually was. And he was awfully still, his chest barely rising and falling in the motions of breathing. It scared Leon, to see Emil so fragile.

It scared him.

"Em...?" Leon inched his way over to his unconscious lover.

"...Nngh...My head feels...heavy..." Emil groaned and opened his eyes a fraction.

"You're alright, that's good." Leon smiled. "We're going to get out of here."

"How...?" Emil mumbled, putting up some effort in order to sit up from his position on the floor. "I don't think these knots are exactly...maneuverable."

"I'm going to help you up, okay? Then you pull me up and we hop out of here like idiots."

"That's not going to work."

"We won't know unless we try. Let's go, Ice. On a count of three, ready?"

Emil glared frustratingly but complied. "Fine..."

"One...

...Two...

...Thr-"

"I see you're awake. What do you two boys think you're doing?" Daan muttered, edging out of the shadowy room that was most likely a kitchen for this abandoned diner.

Leon and Emil said nothing, looking away from those piercing green eyes.

"If you won't talk, I will." Daan rumbled out. "But I guarantee you are not going to like what I am going to say.

"You see, Ivan Braginsky has been keeping tabs on you and your brother ever since your parents died. Your parents owe us money, money they were trying to obtain in hopes of raising you and your brother in a better lifestyle. However, they never finished paying us back."

"You killed them before they could ever pay you back," Emil pointed out sourly.

"It was necessary. They surpassed their deadline, betraying my trust. Now shut up. Your brother's father and your mother were both involved with us. That...Stielsson guy, however, was not. That being so, your brother is the one I'm more focused on. Thus, by kidnapping you, we can hold a ransom, as well as throw in the cost of all those loans your former parents forgot to pay off."

"Why are you doing this?" Emil asked; it was helpless of him, but the question flew from his lips in a flurry.

"Because cash is king."

Leon raised a thick eyebrow. "Y'know, if we weren't kidnapped and such right now, I'm pretty sure we'd be great friends."

"You're not helping, Leon!" Emil grit his teeth in irritation.

"I'm just saying..." Leon mumbled back.

Daan ignored the lovers' spat in front of him. "Anyway, I did not expect you to bring your soulmate here, and he is not part of our plans in any way. Therefore, I'll dispose of him."

Both boys' silenced themselves, eyes widened in horror at the taller man's words, and Leon started struggling in his bonds. The knots held his limbs down like a vice; escape was futile.

"Francis, hold him down. This will make the process much easier." Daan deadpanned.

The Frenchman stepped in from the kitchen and pushed Leon up against the side of the diner counter. He then proceeded to hold down the younger's struggling shoulders, as well as his squirming knees.

"Let me go! If you want money, fine! I'll pay it!" Leon cried out, his eyes blazing with hatred and fury.

Daan considered the offer, but shook his head. "No. We'll get a hefty ton already for the Stielsson boy's ransom, whether we sell him to some shady guy or his brother." He pulled out his revolver then, cold and black as midnight ice. "On second thought, Francis, let him go. I don't care where I hit as long as he's out of our hands." And the Frenchman complied.

"NO! STOP IT!" Emil screamed, watching every terrifying second with large and tear-puffed eyes. He desperately hoped for the clicking of a gun with empty bullets.

The gun gleamed with the foreboding of death and blood, the finger on the trigger promising of torn flesh and spilt crimson. It was a terrifying thing, surely, but the terrifying person wielding the gun was Emil's true fear, for he knew that he would pull the trigger and feel nothing of it.

"PLEASE! STOP IT THIS INSTANT!" Emil cried out once more, the creeping knowledge that Daan's finger on the erect trigger was not going to hold up any longer.

The conversation that he and Leon had earlier still rang in his mind, his own cloudy words pestering his mind now.

Well...If you were the one dying, I would have told you how much you meant to me, even if you can't hear me. I would've told you, 'Ég elska þig,' and I would just hold you there, in my arms until nightfall.

And by time he remembered, his tears had dried, the salty liquid unable to pour from his eyes and caress his cheeks. Instead he sat there, horrified and helpless to fate.

And then in all one simultaneous movement, the trigger was pulled, and the pointed bullet flew.

It was all a slow journey from Emil's eyes, he could see the tiny demon sprinting across the air and he could see the point where the bullet had made contact with its victim.

Emil made a noise between a strangled shriek and a choked back sob. "L...LEON!"

Leon didn't have time to comprehend the exact moment himself. He saw the bullet zooming towards him in the corner of his eye, but other than that the rest caught him by surprise. He didn't expect it to hit him with so much force, and he certainly didn't expect it to hurt so much, that is, before he was overwhelmed with such a numbing burn throughout his body it didn't seem to hurt anymore. The whole sensation took his breath away, sending it forth from his body, making him release a pained exhale. He could feel his stomach boiling, the blood in his throat spilling from his lips in thin streaks. His hearing caved in, his eyelids falling, reducing his vision to slits. Leon knew already that there was blood blossoming onto his crisp white-collared shirt, spreading into his black designer blazer as well.

"Release us from our bonds...I'll go willingly with you. Just let me say goodbye." Emil nearly whispered.

Francis, who had been watching the whole moment with a soft expression of sympathy on his face gave Emil a sad smile. "Well who can say no to that face? Ah, the dying thorns of romance are so heart wrenching to look upon." He pulled out a small pocketknife and tore through the tough bonds on both boys.

"I'll be waiting outside. The truck, enter it through the back when you're done. Don't betray my trust or I'll hand your brother your dead body after his payment. Francis, watch over them." And with that, Daan left.

It seemed like a stereotypical soap opera, and maybe it was, Emil was far past his delirium to comprehend. He inched closer to Leon, and the latter smiled.

"Looks like we won't be eating dinner at my place...I won't even see the old man again..."

"Leon...Leon..." Emil whispered again, and again, and again. "Leon..."

"Shh, Ice. You're not hurt are you?" Leon reached his arm out to let his spidery fingers run through Emil's hair shakily. "Damn, everything feels so heavy."

They forgot that Francis was watching them, they forgot that they were in an abandoned diner in a dangerous part of town.

"I'm okay...You're not." Emil frowned, earning a raspy chuckle from the other.

"Yeah, I kind of noticed. I really didn't want to end our relationship this way, I was kind of hoping it would be a 'it's not you, it's me' kind of thing."

"You were imagining us breaking up?!" Emil pulled away a little, pouting. "I honestly thought that we would stay together like Lukas and Mathias."

"Of course, of course," Leon nodded. "I just think too much."

Emil accepted that answer and started peeling away Leon's bloodstained clothes. "I want to see where the bullet hit you..."

If Leon's flesh wasn't cold sweat-covered or stained with congealing blood, Emil would say that his skin was very well-kept. It was a buttery oriental golden that only Leon could pull off. However, near the edge of his breastbone and shoulder blade his skin was grotesquely set in by the bullet; it was surprising how such a small hole produced so much loss in blood. If Emil squinted hard enough at the bullet hole, he could make out the hard bullet end, small puddles of blood forming there.

"Hey...Em?" Leon sounded extremely tired, and Emil just suddenly noticed how closed his eyes were. The liquid amber was barely visible, and dry blood colored his lips and part of his chin lavishly. "Your hair...is really white."

"Stop saying things like that, for crying out loud! I don't want you to die, so stop saying things like that!" Emil felt his tears returning.

Leon tugged on a thick strand of Emil's tresses. "Seriously, though. It's so...white."

"Leon..." Emil warned, pulling long fingers out of his hair and entwining them with his own.

"Make these last moments feel like one of those stereotypical dramas for me, Ice. C'mon..." Leon rasped out.

Emil narrowed his eyes. "You're not dying. You're not."

Leon smiled. "Of course not; I'm just going to sleep."

"Idiot!" Emil slapped Leon's forehead gently. "All of this blood loss is making you high."

"Come on...Please, Ice...Baby, please." Leon forced his heavy-as-lead eyes open, the syrupy orbs nearly fogged up.

"F-fine...But I don't know what to do..." Emil gave in grudgingly.

"For starters, you could kiss me." Leon suggested, waggling his eyebrows ever so slightly.

Emil's face fired up several shades of red, but he leaned in and nudged his lips against the latter's. He could taste the metallic saltiness of Leon's blood with every soft kiss, the sweetness of Leon himself, something between oriental spices and a honey-sweet that was specifically Leon's. He was going to miss this taste, this person that enveloped himself around his whole life. He was going to miss those liquidy and mischievous golden eyes that teased at him or were bathed with cold fury when aimed at an object of harm.

"Ég elska þig, L...Li Xiao." Emil whispered Leon's full name with a touch of his lips. This was the first time, the last time he would ever say it.

Leon froze for a minute, shocked that Emil had used his full name, the name only his closest family used. "Em...Emil...Ngóh...ngoi néi..."

Emil pulled away for air, with a small smile gracing his lips. "You know, I always imagined us getting married one day...I always pictured us with a nice house..." Emil laughed humorlessly. "What am I even saying...I...You mean so much to me, Hong. You're sweet, you understand, you listen, you reassure, you're my everything. I don't want to lose you, Leon. Please don't die...please...You're so important to me..." Emil noticed that Leon hadn't intervened at all, and he took a closer look at his lover's visage. Leon's eyes were cloudy, as if they were not quite focusing on something, lost in their own world. A new dribble of blood started dancing it's way down his lips, and Leon's wound had started spurting out fresh trails of thick blood. "...L-Leon...?"

No answer.

"Leon?" Emil asked more urgently this time, only to receive silence once again. His chest was still, skin cold to the touch. "N...n-no...NO LEON WAKE UP!" The world stopped, pausing to listen to his every mourning shriek. "Hong...Hong...why...Hong..." He repeated his nickname like a constant mantra, fat tears inching down his already tear stain-caked face.

Francis suddenly got the picture, and rushed to Emil's side. He tried to sooth the sobs that wracked through Emil's small frame, but his attempts were in vain. "Shh, Emil. It's alright, shhh..."

"What do you mean it's alright?! Damn it, it isn't! We only just started dating, and I wanted to-I saw our life together, and I-it can't just stop here! I can't live without him here! I need him!" Emil shook Leon's limp body. "Listen to me, Leon! Open your eyes! Listen to my voice! Can...can you hear me?!"

"Listen, Emil. You cannot stand here anymore. He's gone. You must go to the truck." Francis said, voice laced with deep guilt and empathy.

"N-no! You don't understand! I need him, I need him here with me alive! I need him! LEON! LE-" Emil's cries were cut short as he fell limp and unconscious from the anesthetic drugs he was injected with.

Francis removed the needled syringe from Emil's neck , sighing with deep remorse as he pushed the boy off of Leon's body. "I'm sorry. I deeply apologize for your loss."

He stood up and carried the drugged boy over his shoulder, praying the boy's soul be taken to a better place. "I know you cannot hear this, mon petit, but I used to have a young love as well...back when I was about your age. Her name was Joan, and she was the toughest girl I had ever met. She tried to get me away from the harsh gang life...She tried, but in the end she had gotten herself killed by them. Daan sent that Braginsky fellow after her, and he made sure her death was permanent. I can still see her pale ashes floating across the floor, the stake she was upheld to. The burning flames...I still remember how disgustingly orange and vivid they were. I wished her soul to a better place, one in which she would be protected from the harms of the world. I wish your lover the same as well, or at least may his fate be cleared of any harm or an early end."

...

"...'m...i...l..." The nearly dead body choked out suddenly.

"Sacrebleu!" Francis yelped out, and scurried over to Leon's body.

Leon didn't speak again, but his chest rose and fell slightly. The Frenchman reach out and pressed his hand against the boy's chest.

Bum...

...Ba-dum...

...

...Ba-dum...

...

...

...Bum...

It was a slow heart, one that was ready to give up its fight. Miraculous, really; but what was he to expect? Young love was a gift from God. Quickly, Francis tore apart Leon's white shirt into long stripes and knotted the ends together. It wasn't as designer as his blazer, so it wouldn't be as expensive to replace the shirt.

The Frenchman knew he shouldn't be healing someone that his leader had left for dead, but the sorry sight of the boy's significant other (as much as he wanted to woo the boy as his) was much too much to bear stop his shoulders. Francis carefully wrapped the makeshift shirt bandage around the wounded boy's torso, tucking the two main ends over and under the wounded shoulder.

"Ah, just like making a designer dress," Francis muttered to himself.

Francis Bonnefoy; loyal gang member to the Vrede en Liefde, as well as a talented model and designer for Karpusi Co. Bonnefoy is also a very talented chef, as his one dream is to make his own bakery in the hub area of Hetaliaville.

"...There, the bleeding should be temporarily stopped. I'm afraid that is all I am capable of doing, mon ami...But wait a moment!" He pulled out Emil's cellphone from the sleeping boy's pockets and searched up the police headquarters' main phone.

"'Allo? This is Francis Bonnefoy. I am here to report a wounded officer that is unable to answer at the moment."

"Hello? This is Captain Hédevéry speaking. Wait...Francis?! Is that you?!"

"Oui, mon cher. But there is no time for pleasant words or frying pans, my friend. One of your officers, Leon, I presume, is on the brink of death. He was shot by-I mean, he appears to have been shot down. I ran into this young man in this condition downtown on my way from work and he looks deathly. Elizaveta, can you hear me? Eli-"

"I hear you Francis!" The Captain shrieked through the phone. "What I'm confused about is why you're using Emil's cellphone. Emil and Leon are consultants working here, and-Oh God! Leon! I'll send my officers there right away!"

"Oui, I see, I see! Emil must've dropped his cell here, so I looked through its contents for a phone number to call, but I've seen no sign of the boy!" It was kind of a lie, Francis had to admit. But there was no time to comprehend the weight of his actions.

"Okay, we will speak later! Goodbye, Francis!" And Eliza hung up.

Francis pocketed the phone back in Emil's pockets and lugged him over his shoulder again. "I pray for your good health and full recovery, Leon. Come now, Emil, it's time for our journey."

-linebreaklinebreakangsteverywherelalalala-

"I always imagined us married one day...

...I always pictured us with a nice house..."

White blinded his eyes before fading into a thousand bright colors, morphing into some kind of scene. Leon found himself staring at Emil, who had looped his arms around his neck. They were standing before a bright white altar, Emil wearing a clean white vest and matching collared shirt. It was surreal, it surely had to be.

"I love you, Leon. I always have." Emil whispered, his face twisting into a smile he looked positively radiant in. He leaned his lips forward, almost as if to kiss him.

"I love you too, Em. You're my one and-"

"I love you, Leon. I always have." Emil repeated, this time his voice sounded hoarse and his eyes were full of shining tears. His arms were no longer looped around the others neck. Instead, his white hair was matted with sweat and his hands were clutching at his abdomen. Crimson splotches bloomed and melted through his fingers from his stomach, staining the floor below him and his clothes.

"Emil?!" Leon couldn't move, he couldn't reach out and hold his other.

Emil crumpled to the ground, his eyes barely open. "Save me, Hong." Blood splashed onto his beautiful porcelain face, and he reached out to Leon with weak fingers.

"Save me."

"EMIL!"

...

The scene morphed again, and in Emil's place lay his mother and father. They were unmoving, still. Vibrant flowers rested upon their chests, wrists and head. The same condition from when a very young Leon spent their anniversary with them before their death.

"Bàba..." ((Cantonese and Mandarin for Father)) "Māma..." ((Cantonese and Mandarin for Mother)) Leon ran his fingers through his mother's silky dark brown locks slowly.

It had been years since their passing away. Leon remembered, he always did. It was why Yao was so overprotective, it was why he had all of this family surrounding him. His parents had died on their anniversary. Yao was barely fifteen, Leon almost six, and they still lived in China back then. Māma and Bàba decided to take them to the harbor, the skies clear and sparkling blue like the water. That day, they had gone shopping at the bakery, buying rose petal covered fruit tarts and drinking the sweetest lychee bubble teas. Māma and Bàba held hands and shared kisses, to much of Yao and Leon's dismay. As they returned home, they planned to prepare for supper together and make dim sum for dinner. However, they had no idea that one of their neighbor's houses caught fire, bringing the other houses around it into flames.

"Māma, what's that smell? Did you burn the food?" Leon had innocently asked, the whole family unaware of the fire burning next door.

His mother ceased her stirring of her pan of mapo tofu. "Hm? No, Li Xiao. I haven't burned anything. But now that you say it..." She sniffed the air. "Something is burning, Li Xiao. You didn't set off any of the firecrackers for the New Year ((Chinese New Year)) did you?"

"No, Māma. Do you want me to see?"

His mother had shaken her head. "No, I will. Stay here, children."

He remembered how Yao and him sat in the couch, his older brother helping him tie his long hair into an elegant ponytail. His mother returned back, face pale in fear as she slumped down and whispered that a fire had burnt their neighbors' houses, and that she had seen a charred burnt body of their close neighbor lying on the ground.

"We need to leave, come boys. I am going to tell Bàba. Yao, stay with Li Xiao." She pulled out two slips of paper from the small silk purse she would always carry. "I was going to wait until dinner to show you, but it cannot be helped now. There isn't much time. These are tickets for a boat ride to Hong Kong. Bàba and I were going to take you there for a small visit over the weekend, but this is going to be a permanent trip now. I have my ticket and Bàba's. You two take a head start to the harbor and Bàba and I will catch up."

Yao frowned. "Why do we have to go first? Why can't we all go together, aru?"

Māma smiled. "Bàba and I want our children to be safe, and we need to pack a few things before we leave."

"But you said we didn't have much time!" Yao's frown grew deeper.

"It will just be a couple things that are important to us." She pushed the brothers out the door. "Now go! Stay together!" And she left to inform their father.

As soon as Yao and Leon were almost out of their neighborhood, they could hear their parents running to catch up.

"Yao! Li Xiao! We're coming!" Bàba yelled out. "Stay where you are!"

Yao and little Leon froze in place, patiently waiting, that is, until they saw one of the support beams from one of the burning houses collapse, toppling over straight towards their parents.

"BÀBA! MĀMA!" Leon screamed, "WATCH OUT!"

Had Leon's screams been a second sooner, they would've stopped where they were and avoided the flaming beam.

It hit Bàba first, the scorching flames licking up at his exposed skin and burning it to a dark crisp.

Leon shrieked at the top of his lungs, watching in complete horror as his father became an ashy corpse in flame. He cried and screamed, reaching his free hand that wasn't holding Yao's towards his parents, but the distance between them was too far.

Before the fire enveloped Màma, Yao decided that it be time to move again, forcing Leon to look straight ahead without turning back again. He could tell that Yao was crying too, but Leon was too traumatized to tell. When he had awoken from his shock, he found himself halfway from China, headed towards Hong Kong on the boat his mother had informed him about.

And here Leon was now, probably dreaming, most likely dreaming. He was sure this was a before-death dream, and he would find himself among the heavens with his parents and heaps of money from all those times he performed his cultural funeral rituals and burnt paper money. He was sure that was going to happen. The bright white lights dotted his vision again, and suddenly overwhelmingly black darkness engulfed him into a dreamless rest.

...

Am I dead...?

~A Half Hour Later~

"The Captain said we should look in this location," Lukas muttered quietly. "The same place that gang is located in."

"Are you sure, James Bondedick?" Lovino asked, but his name calling was more halfheartedly, a certain softness edging up to his voice. Lovino was worried for those two weird bastards...he was worried.

"Hej! Luke! Lovino! I think we found 'im!" Mathias called out from an abandoned diner.

Elizaveta had sent Lovino, Antonio, Lukas, and Mathias downtown to look for Leon and Emil. She also notified the fire department and ambulance, those of which were staying a couple meters behind with Antonio.

"Is that really him, Anko? Is it Emil? Leon?" Lukas followed his fiancé, Lovino trailing behind.

The three officers were taken aback when they found the body laying there on the diner floor, a puddle of dried blood under him. The bandages around him were nearly soaked through, leaving a fresh rotting stench that was specifically of the moist blood-drenched bandages. His hair was dripping with cold sweat like his skin, and his body seemed limp and weak.

"Oh my fucking God...it's Leon..." Mathias murmured.

"Ch-Ch-Chigi...is he dead...?" Lovino squeaked, eyeing Leon's body with disgust and horror.

Lukas knelt down beside the Asian and rested his head upon the boy's chest and pushed two fingers up to his mouth. The smallest puff of air was released onto Lukas' fingertips, as well as a faint beat from his heart. "He's alive, just barely. The bandages just saved him. Without them, he would've been dead before we got here."

"Okay." Lovino nodded before yelling out. "WE'VE GOT A CONSULTANT THAT NEEDS MEDICAL ASSISTANCE! HE SUFFERS A GUNSHOT TO THE LEFT BREASTBONE. GET A FUCKING STRETCHER OVER HERE STAT!" He narrowed his eyes at Antonio, who was helping the medical team get their equipment out. "Oi, tomato bastard! Get your ass over here! We're gonna need help to lift him up, bastardo!"

Antonio immediately came to Lovino's aid and hoisted Leon's legs over his shoulders gently. "Lovi, mi querido, will you carry his wounded shoulder? And Lukas can get his other shoulder. Mr. Tough Danish Man can lift the boy's stomach so his body doesn't collapse." The officers followed in suit, slowly moving their way to the stretcher that the medics had laid outside the diner.

"Bring him to the hospital. It doesn't seem like Emil was here, he must've gone somewhere," Lukas quietly told his fellow officers.

Just where are you, lillebror?

-linebreaklinebreakhahahongiceeverywhere-

"...Gun...

fatal...

...critical..."

...Who's speaking...? Where am I?

"...Much blood...

...Bandages...him..."

My limbs feel heavy...

Why do I feel so...sleepy?

"He's...stable condition. He'll need...to recover..."

I need to wake up...

...

Leon's eyes fluttered open, pupils narrowing from the sudden burst of white that bombarded his vision.

White walls, white curtains, white bed. An IV sac was dripping medicine into his arm through a narrow tube that was attached to his arm. He could hear the acute 'beep beep' of the heart monitor. The only colorful objects he could see were people. People that were looking at him. There was a blonde man with a silver cross clip in his hair, a man with sunshine-like blonde hair swept up wildly, and...

...Oh. A crowd of people that all looked like him-Asian.

Lukas. Mathias. And...his family.

"What are you all doing here...?" Leon croaked.

Yao was the first one to pipe up. "What do you mean?! We were worried about you, aru! When this nice young man with the girly hair clip said that you were in the hospital suffering major injuries, we all came to check up on you! For the last three days all you've been doing is sleeping and undergoing dangerous surgery, aru!" He held his younger brother's hand tightly. "Are you feeling better, Li Xiao?"

Leon nodded slowly. "Yeah. Everything feels heavy..."

Mei Lin hugged Leon's feet lovingly. "Aw, that's great to hear, Xiao! Take all the time you need to get better!"

Kiku placed a small Chinese baozi on his bedside, completed with a plastic cup containing his special blend of chrysanthemum tea. "I wish you a full recovery, Li-kun. This herbal tea will help your body heal faster." Ah, superstitions.

Leon waited on as the rest of his large family showered him with gifts, even Yong Soo and, surprisingly, Pochi, Kiku's dog. Although, all the pooch had to offer was a slobbery lick to his face. Yong Soo offered a coupon to his nightclub, that of which Leon quickly disposed of after.

When all of his relatives had left, Lukas decided to speak.

"We come here to ask you a couple of questions, Leon." Lukas deadpanned softly. "Try to remember best as you can."

Leon nodded and took a small sip of Kiku's tea.

"Where is my brother?"

End of HVPD: You're Under My Arrest Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the last chapter of HVPD! Don't worry though, we're working on a book 2 at this moment! Book 2 should hopefully be out around early August. Until then we have other works that should be out soon, like a HongIce oneshot, and I'm working on a Spamano that would be out soon. We hope you guys enjoyed reading!
> 
> We both enjoy feedback, please review!
> 
> ~ KawaiiJilli + KiPanda Cutie ~

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO FRIENDS! So this is a cute HongIce that was co-authored by me and KiPanda Cutie (she's on Fanfiction.net), well she did most of the writting so I'm giving her the most credit on this. This was an attempt at at shit-ton of humor, really cheesy romance, and a bit of crime drama. It will also be a very long multi-chaptered fic that will be updated every Wednesday, if possible. I really hope all you you like this as much as I did as when we were writing it! XD
> 
> Love you all! 
> 
> We also don't own Hetalia, sadly, but at least we have this amazing plot!


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